Super Mario Bros: Black
by Anacondable
Summary: A reimagining of the Super Mario Bros. video game. The first act is based on The Super Mario Bros Movie, the second act is based on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and the third act is based on BioShock: Infinite.
1. Chapter 1

**1992 - Brooklyn**

It was just another Gothic Church in Brooklyn, the spires being lighted up in glorious silhouettes. The rain was heavy, pouring down hard through the white sky of clouds. The gutters of the church were overpouring and the rain was gathering up in several small, some interconnected, puddles. A young woman ran breathlessly across the streets, holding a tiny bundle in her hands. Glancing back constantly, she banged on the door as hard as she could muster. Placing the bundle right in front of the door, which opened inwards, it was protected from the rain and cold. Running off, she barely noticed the flaring headlights and skidding cars as she desperately tried to make her way across the street. She darted down the stairs into a closed off and abandoned subway entrance, used only by bums and archaeologists, both of whom had not used it in several years.

Running down the tracks frantically, she fell a few times, scraping her knees on some of the rusted iron. She refused to even let out a mumble. The pipes above her, old and dry, dripped slightly acidic water. Then she made it, to some old boards which she had crawled through last time. Pulling them off she did not have time to mind the splinters. There she made it to an abandoned tunnel, the beams holding it up were rotting, fungal and the moss over the floor boards was more visible than the termite infested oak. Running towards the mineral formation at the end of the tunnel, she suddenly found herself unable to breathe and up in the air. Then she saw him and trembled in fear, General Koopa, the Kerog of the Dark Land, was clutching her throat and holding her in the air. Why? This man had been missing for years. He overtook her easily, his gaze intense, his visage handsome but his grip deadly.

Wrenching free, she kicked the support beam closest to Koopa. The rock formations above them began to collapse. Her move was a suicide one, a hope that Koopa would perish with her. It was her last act. The ceiling caved in but none would notice, after all nobody but bums and archaeologists used the tunnel, and both had not used it for several years.

Hopefully Kamek would not follow.

* * *

The nuns began to unwrap the bundle with excitement. It had been a long time since somebody had dropped off a child in such a manner, even then, they always had the parents with them. Dropping off a child in this manner was strange. As they pulled the bundle open they were confused. It was a child, a beautiful baby girl wearing a necklace with a red gleaming stone with a small flower design on it. But most of her was wrapped around in an egg, a giant egg big enough to fit her. It did not look fake, not at all. The child's small and tiny hand reached out to the nun's finger and she looked for the first time into the child's beautiful emerald eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Brooklyn - 2014**

Driving the van, Mario, 37 and growing a mustache, was doing it fast, faster than anything. His younger brother, Luigi, 25, was obviously not comfortable with his brother's driving, not happy at all. Frustrated, he burst out: "Mario, why the hell did you have to sell Donkey Kong? The ape was racking in the dough. This job is not worth dying over!"

"Pauline said it was an emergency!" Mario declared.

"So what, she lives next to a plumber that isn't us!" Luigi protested. "A plumber who owns a corporation larger than even dad did! A plumber whose got more than just cell phones and panel trucks, he's got new ASUS GPS computers and dispatchers. What's the worst that can happen, lets just do the small jobs. It's not like we're broke or anything, the monkey did get us publicity and money. I mean, in a few weeks our other trucks and dispatcher's will arrive. Grace, Gene and the boys'll do a good enough job alone, let's just take a vacation! You're driving like a maniac!"

"Pauline said it was an emergency!" Mario declared, again.

"The monkey is not going to break out of a crate on it's way back to Kong Island with it's kid, again, to attack you!" Luigi cried out.

Arriving in front of her apartment, Mario groaned out in frustration. It was the Rescue Rooter's Truck right out there. Pauline met Mario in front of the truck, "You guys're too late. I told the landlady you guys could handle their problems, Doug was out on a different job. I didn't think he'd be back soon enough."

"Ah, that's okay," Mario waved it off. "How're you doing, now that all this publicity is finally fading... are you all right?"

"We can talk about that later," Pauline said bluntly. "Hey Luigi. See you later guys."

As they drove off, Luigi heard the Rooter's dispatcher, a job at the River's Cafe. "Let's head there," he suggested, and they were off. "Times change Mario, pretty soon we'll all be 2014 as well. Hell, maybe if we learn a trick or two from the Rooter's we can hit the heights like dad did."

"Luigi, dad had values!" Mario protested as he drove. "He had values and that was what kept us alive."

"Now what kept us alive was the monkey you won when you thought you wanted to be a circus maestro," Luigi answered. "That is what payed off Big Eddie and the loan sharks. Mario we need disregard a value or two, learn a trick or four and get a big score."

* * *

By the East River, at that exact same time, an excavation sponsored by Scapelli Construction was in progress. It was a project that had gained significant attention over the past few months, primarily by groups deemed "rednecks" by the general populace. These groups, whom the public claimed to have no place in the city, had been protesting the entire time. Living true to their name, they had been drinking and threatening violence, but the threats were empty as ever. They were protesting the pollution effects it could have on the river, a viable concern, but the fact that actual environmentalists cared little, made the situation even more preposterous. That may have been a picket line, but actual construction workers were picketing the site. It was a project that Scapelli and Columbia University were doing in conjunction to help the archaeology students, although Scapelli had essentially been forced into the deal and wanted out. The academics present at the site were constantly checking up and consulting their clipboards, studying, bagging and tagging rare rocks, fossils and minerals. Walking out of the main tunnel being excavated, one that had collapsed at least twenty years prior, was clearly the most beautiful woman on the site: Daisy.

As she walked out of the tunnel, the crystal pendent on her neck, tied up by a leather cord, flared as the sun hit it. Shining brightly, she quickly advanced into broad daylight. Here eyes were emerald, haunting but surprisingly comforting and amazing. A fellow student came up to her and asked of a bone. She answered 'hadrosaur' almost immediately. All of this came to her almost instantaneously, it was like she was meant to do this, study the bones of the real Jurassic Park. Of course she was also very interested in botany and worked in a florist's shop. She hated being alone, though working part time at a florist's shop and as a waitress just to get by and pay for her university tuition. Most of her friends didn't even have jobs, they relied on their parents for stuff like that.


	3. Chapter 3

The two brothers drove their truck to the cafe, hardly talking after their little discussion. What was going on between them was more than just differing ideals on how to do business, it was about how Luigi was rebelling on how he was raised. It was on Mario still trying to be the good son, loyal, taking the punishment and refusing to butt heads with his father even after the man was gone. Mostly, it was the fact that Mario could not accept fame and fortune for simply doing what he believed to be his duty, despite the fact that it would have saved his business. It was about Luigi accepting it on Mario's behalf behind him.

Luigi glanced longingly out the window, mostly at the skyscrapers and how he wanted to live at their top floor. Then he looked to the curb, it was where, because he could not get all the money the mayor was offered to give Mario, they were. Then his view was distracted and his line of thought broken because he saw her. She was heading in the same direction, so her back was to him and when he saw her face it was only a flash - but it was enough. "Woah, did you see her?" he asked Mario, astonished, hoping he could get Mario to stop the truck, but it was his response that put him off.

"Who? The girl? Yeah, she's nice," he said very quickly and in an uncaring fashion. Obviously he was still upset about their spat.

"More than just nice Mario," Luigi responded. "She is a vision!" To that, he only got a sigh. He knew what his brother thought, that he should be focused on his job right now and trying to help the business instead of chase girls.

In about a minute they arrived at the Rivers Cafe: it had a high tech kitchen full of gleaming surfaces, metal pans and simmering sauce pans. It was almost like the Hard Rock Cafe. The underchefs were testing the sauces right under the critical and all-seeing eyes of the chefs. Waiters and waitresses were coming in and out of the doors with plates full and empty, clean and dirty and even broken. Taken to the broken machine by the assistant manager, Pascal, Mario very quickly got his hands dirty and feet sticking out of an industrial sized washing machine. Water was overflowing from the machine and the spillage was all over the floor.

Luigi's attention, well, as usual it was anywhere but there. Elsewhere he spotted her, an amazing waitress, well, at least from behind. She was a waitress at the cafe, wearing a white blouse, black stockings and an equally black skirt. Then, as she turned around to pick up a tray Luigi was astonished to see it was the same girl he spotted on the road. Her eyes locked on Luigi's for a brief second and for the splitsecond, he blushed and smiled.

"Can you fix it - or should I call another plumber?" the manger, Pascal, asked. He was an uptight Frenchman who worshipped himself way too much. He was waiting way too impatiently tapping his feet as Mario came out from underneath the machine.

"Eh?" Mari grunted. "Okay, first things first: first off - we ain't plumbers. We're specialized contractors fixing in home repair, water management and water supply systems. Second off, your hose is shot. So, you'll need a new impeller and chances are, you'll need a new motor as well."

"I don't know what any of that means," Pascal frowned. "Can you fix it?"

"It means it'll take two hours, minimum," Mario answered. He turned to Luigi and like a surgeon to a head nurse, asked, "Wrench?"

"Five-eights?"

"Check!"

Luigi tossed to his brother's hands, his eyes focused out the kitchen window on the waitress.

She was giving an order to two men sitting in a place of the restaurant referred to as Siberia. For a second Luigi thought he saw one of them flick a long tongue, like that of a lizard. She then re-entered the kitchen to give an order to the sous-chef, unaware that Luigi's eyes were on her. "Two seafood sausages, one tarragon chicken, penna primavera...," the list she collected rambled on.

"Did you hear that?" Luigi, astonished again, whispered to Mario. "She speaks Italian."

"Those are food orders and maybe if you helped out here you could learn something!" Mario grumbled. Luigi looked at his brother. He was just as good a plumber, and an even better haggler. It just was not his fault that Mario did not want him doing either of those two things, and then complaining when he tried one. Luigi let the thoughts leave his mind, he kept watching the waitress as her feet slipped off of the wet floor. Flinging an arm out to try and regain balance, she instead stumbled against a counter where stacks of China were waiting to be washed. In an instant they crashed to the floor and with immense noise, splintered all over the place.

Luigi went quickly to extend a hand over to help the waitress, helping her up, their eyes met. "You okay, miss?" he asked, with sincere concern.

"Merde alors!" Pascal cried out. "What have you done you stupid girl!" Daisy opened her mouth to respond, but Luigi pushed her behind him.

"It wasn't her!" he quickly stated. "I did it."

"Do you know what those plates cost us!" Pascal roared, the francophone's voice getting louder by the decibel.

"Take it off what you owe us!" Luigi exclaimed.

"WHAT?" Mario asked, looking up from his work.


	4. Chapter 4

Then there were only two cars left in the cafe of the Rivers Cafe, the Mario Bros truck and unknown rental in which two shady figures sat. Mario glared at Luigi as they approached the truck, he looked disappointed and above all, just pissed off. "Luigi, what the hell was that?" he asked angrily. Usually Luigi would just look down at the ground accept what was coming to him, but right now, he just looked back at his older brother. A rift had been growing in between them for a while now. "We work for them for three hours and what happens, we end up owing them fifty seven dollars?"

"Oh come on, after everything with Kong-!" Luigi tried to say but his brother quickly cut him off.

"Shut up about Kong! You'll never know what that means!" he angrily stated, prepared to knock out his brother. He could not though, no matter how much Mario thought he could, deep down he knew he could not even touch Luigi out of love. "Luigi, if you were anyone else, Gene... just give me a name... you would be down on the floor begging for forgiveness!"

"What happened, we got so much money off of Kong! We're going to have the biggest business, what's about sixty dollars to you?" asked Luigi. Mario glared at him.

"It's not that," he said slightly quietly. "It's the principle."

"Principle?" Luigi remarked. "Your the one who is always going on and on about how values matter and how we should stick to those! What is this untold principle? Make up your mind on our values!" Mario was about to retort back but they were interrupted by the sound of running footsteps. It was the waitress, she was wearing strange bib overalls like she was working in the Sahara or something. Mario, still fuming, did his best to change his demeanor. Luigi on the other hand, well, whereas Mario was fumbling to keep calm, Luigi had already forgotten of the argument.

"Excuse me!" she said as the two brothers were about to pack up their supplies. "You saved me!" she exclaimed. "I mean you saved my job back there, but I can't let you guys do that. How much do I owe you?"

"Well, considering the time and labour -," Mario huffed, looking at Luigi.

"Nothing!" he said, ignorant of his brother's disdain. "Can we offer you a ride somewhere... ehh...?"

"Daisy," she answered. "My name is Daisy."

"Well I'm Luigi," responded Luigi. "That's my brother Mario." Mario simply nodded, angry and wanting to get home as soon as possible.

"I'm doing work at the excavation site at the old tunnel," she told Luigi. "That is if it's not in your way..." Luigi was thrilled and got her in the backseat, Mario hardly said a word, still angry about the lost business. Luigi glanced at him and knew that his brother was hiding something, but as they got on the road and he looked at Daisy, he forgot about his brother's woes. Luigi turned back to ask her a question, but for a second the words would not come out.

"What's with this tunnel?" he asked her.

"When the excavators went in they turned up some bones and fossils," Daisy answered, "I believe the university put up a deal with Jerome Scapelli to put a stop order on the work, they think it's going to be a pretty big discovery."

"Woah," Luigi responded, obviously fascinated. Mario on the other hand really could not care less, he was slightly intrigued, though, but only enough to make him quit caring about the money.

"There's iridium in the rocks. They think... well it's a theory...," Daisy was pausing, minding her words. "This could be a site where a giant meteorite hit... one that split off from the asteroid before it hit the Yucatan. That asteroid is what is attributed to wiping out the dinosaurs, I think this one did most of the work for the North, though."

"Isn't that cool, Mario?" Luigi asked his brother. "There used to be dinosaurs here in Brooklyn!"

"There used to be Dodgers," Mario sourly answered. "Look at what happened to them." They arrived at the excavation site not a minute after, the Brooklyn Bridge was clearly visible from it, the traffic growing by the second. Mario was already feeling sorry for all of the tourists. The truck parked at the cordoned off site, beyond them, many of the protesters had been joined by the construction workers. Apparently the stop-order was affecting their work as well, it only took them a couple hours to realize that. By the second, there were less and less rednecks and more and more workers, refusing to do the university's work. Luigi quickly got out to help Daisy from the cab. With the workers, the police had arrived, fearing that perhaps the protests could finally get violent. There three cars of New York's best, so probably about six officers holding back the strike.

"Thanks again," she said.

"Any time," Luigi promised. He wanted to say more, but he was tongue tied. Daisy smiled and walked away. Behind the wheel, Mario reacted quickly and pulled down his window as a black limo pulled up beside him. Out of it came three guys in black suits, the main of whom was Eddie Scapelli. Eddie worked for Scapelli Industries, run by his uncle, Jerome Scapelli. His designer clothes gave him the look of John Gotti. Scapelli's two associates were also wearing business suits but had faces like they had run a hundred meter dash on a sixty meter track. Mario quickly recognized Eddie, his suspicions were true.

"Yo Eddie," Mario called. "What's happening?"

"What's happening is I'm dying here!" he answered, moving towards the truck. "I got the construction contract on this job for Uncle Jerome, and now a group of paleo-proctologists tell me I got to stop blasting? See you, dude." He moved on, making his way to the cops. "Is this the best deployment of your manpower? We've got girls going missing all over Brooklyn and there is six of New York's finest just sitting on their asses here scratching their balls?"

"We're just here to avoid any trouble, Mr. Scapelli," an officer responded as courteous as possible.

"These men have to feed their families," Eddie responded, anger rising in his voice. "They have a right to voice their opinion."

"Not with baseball bats," another officer said.

As Luigi got in the car to leave, he kept on watching Daisy, noticing how she quickly rejoined her fellow students.


	5. Chapter 5

By the end of the next day, the two brothers were getting dressed and ready. Their main room, messy and needing desperate cleaning, was full of old furniture inherited from their parents. At opposite sides of the room were two doors, from one came out Nirvana and from the other came out T.I., both styles contrasting each other. Mario came out of the first door, the one playing Nirvana. His hair was wet and sleek, he was fixing it up with a metal comb. Wearing trousers and a white top, it showed off his tattooed arms and ID bracelet. Luigi came out from the other door, he was wearing baggy clothes, a dark green T-Shirt and a wish bracelet. "I thought you were going out?" Mario asked, confused. "Why aren't you changed?"

"Style, Mario," Luigi answered. "Style. Today's fashion means I am changed!"

"Then why do you look like your going to a farm aid concert?" Mario asked. He was exhausted with trying to get his brother to look professional, so he would let this one lie.

"The look is loose," Luigi responded. "Keep wearing those Sinatra pants and you'll be lucky to have children."

"I'm seeing Pauline," Mario laughed it off. "A girl like that expects a man to look sharp."

"So where're you taking her?" Luigi inquired.

"Somewhere where they won't bounce my plastic," Mario answered. "Problem with working for yourself is you don't got nobody to beef with when you don't get paid."

"Maybe we should try a new business," Luigi joked.

"What's wrong with you?" Mario chuckled. "I'm thirty-seven and now I'm going to be an aerospace engineer?"

"Hey, it's got to be something," Luigi put his hands up. "I mean when you tell people you clog and unclog drains for a living, it doesn't come off as cool."

"Yeah, but nobody forced you into this civil engineering boy," Mario pointed out at Luigi's university efforts. They had gone all right, it's just that Luigi never got the jobs he wanted. "I was forced." This time he pointed out to a picture of their father, probably the greatest plumber in New York state. "When poppa was sitting on that chair a month before his disappearance what was I supposed to say? Hnnn? That I don't want to be a plumber because Jennifer Lopez ain't gonna give me a lap dance so it ain't no glamour profession?"

"It's just - that girl today - she's really special," Luigi pointed out. "Daisy."

"So what?" Mario asked. "You meet a girl one day and you think she's some princess?"

"She just might be," Luigi pointed out. "Why would she want to be with a plumber?"

"Just wait until her toilet is blocked," Mario responded. "Then she'll come running to you."

* * *

An hour later Mario was at the restaurant, a large sprawling time-warp of a place. It was the kind of place that one knew would never have served or even heard of meatballs in thick read sauce or argula or sun died tomatoes. There were red velvet booths and tiny table lamps all over the place. Mario was there sitting with Pauline Scapelli in a corner booth. She was dark, brave and Brooklyn, she toyed with the spaghetti with her fork and then looked up at Mario. "Everyone thinks the grass is greener Mario," she told him. For some reason Mario could not help but think that was a reference to get him more light-hearted like Luigi. "Take my job at the tanning salon. I mean I think it's a growth industry but my boss is such a jerk. Like today I go to get my hair done-."

"Did I tell you it looks good?" Mario pointed out.

"Thank you," she said, albeit very quickly. "Anyways, I get back and straight off, he is on my case!"

"I guess he was teed off because you did it on company time," Mario suggested. He started thinking about how much Luigi never cared on doing other things during work and how that affected business.

"It grew on company time!" Pauline stated.

"Not all of it?" Mario asked sheepishly.

"I didn't get all of it cut off!" she cried quietly. Mario laughed but an "oh shit" went off in his head when he saw who entered through the door, Eddie Scapelli. Flanked by his two associates, he was greeted by the maitre d' and quickly spotted Mario and Pauline. He made his way to them. Mario half rose but Eddie quickly motioned him back down.

He gave Pauline a kiss on the cheek and turned to address Mario. "Yo Mario, I'm happy your taking out my cousin, she's a very special girl," he put in.

"He knows that, Eddie," Pauline awkwardly laughed, evidently embarrassed.

"I know he knows that," Eddie put a hand to her face. "What I also know that he knows is that I know that he will take good care of you and respect you. That's important isn't it Mario, respect? Like, say you touch her, Uncle Jerome'll kill you, or get me to, so, don't and please, don't let any apes touch her again. Have a nice evening guys!" He slapped Mario on the shoulder, but the plumber after seeing the veiled threat which his girlfriend couldn't didn't have that much of an appetite.

"Say, speaking of monkeys, where is Donkey Kong now?" asked Pauline. Mario looked at her surprised, given that the last thing he expected to hear from her was a question on the ape.


	6. Chapter 6

Temporary floodlights illuminated the site. Daisy and her professor, Elvin Gadd, and a lot of other students were emerging from the site. It was raining, so they all put up their umbrellas, Daisy had a throwaway red one. Talking to Professor Gadd, her only thoughts were on getting back to her apartment in the rain, the subway was a ways and all of the students' carpools were full. Surprised, she saw Luigi standing next to his truck in the rain. Making her way there, not listening to what Gadd was saying, Daisy approached him. "Hi...," he said sheepishly. Daisy cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, I happened to be passing and I thought maybe you'd need a ride in this rain, I mean you walked to the cafe and there isn't a subway for a while."

"Oh, who is this?" Gadd asked, his mind off the research. "Someone special?" Daisy ignored the question, raising Luigi's curiosity.

"I'm Luigi, I was on my way back home from a job and I thought-," he started.

"No need to explain anything to me, my boy," he stopped Luigi right there. "I'll be seeing you Daisy," he said his goodbyes and departed.

"Anyways," Luigi said. "I thought you might be wanting a ride, like I said, you know all the weird things happening recently, missing girls and all." Daisy hesitated, she did not know this man but he seemed sincere enough. Smiling, she got in. As they were driving, pas the windshield wipers, Luigi and Daisy's faces were reflecting in the glass off of the light coming from the headlights. Daisy, feeling slightly awkward, began to finger the crystal wrapped around her neck. "So your a student?" Luigi asked to break up the silence.

"Well, yeah," she answered. "It's just about saving up enough to pass the course - paleontology." She smiled when she saw his puzzled look, him obviously never having heard of anyone join the course before.

"You must think I'm pretty weird just being into old fossils and old bones," she laughed. "It's just been what I've loved ever since I was - will, ever since I can remember anything. It's just what I wanted to do. Did you ever go to university?"

"Yeah," Luigi answered, laughing. "I took a civil engineering course, like usual, middle of my class and no job. That's why I took up plumbing with my brother, I'm so much better at it as well." He saw the crystal around her neck and pointed it out, "Did you dig that up down there?"

"What?"

"The thing around your neck."

"This?" she asked and he nodded. "No. It was with me when I was found."

"Found?" Luigi asked. "Most things are born, or well, hatched." She laughed at the joke.

"No silly, I was abandoned," she responded. "I was brought up on St. Teresa's on Fulton street.

"Hey, that's my neighborhood!" Luigi added in. "Maybe we saw each other as kids and well... just never knew I guess."

* * *

With their dinner finished, Mario and Pauline walked out of the restaurant. Realizing the rain and that he did not bring his truck, Mario and she sheltered themselves under the canopy of the restaurant. "Y'know, we could just walk, it's only a few block's till Eddie's house." She pointed to her new hairdo.

"I spent eighty bucks on this Mario!"

Noticing something, Mario ran out on to the street holding up his arms. "Hey!... hey!" he cried out. It was his and Luigi's truck, coincidentally just passing by. The van quickly began to skid to a halt. "Good timing bro!" Mario said. Luigi realized he didn't know Daisy was in the backseat, his face quickly told Mario it was anything but. Soon, all four were chatting noisily in the truck enjoying themselves when Mario reached Pauline's apartment.

Daisy handed her the throwaway umbrella. "Take this, please, I don't need it," she offered.

"Thanks, that's real nice of ya," Pauline graciously accepted. Then she turned to Mario, "Wanna come in?" Mario was about to say yes, but remembered Eddie's warning about Jerome.

"Maybe another time Pauline," he said.

"Your loss," she claimed, to which Mario received and elbow to the shoulder from Luigi. Holding the umbrella up, Pauline looked just like Daisy from an angle. The brothers drove off before they could see two strange figures follow Pauline into her apartment. Daisy then offered to show the two the dig site, but Mario knew he had to go home and so was dropped off on the way.


	7. Chapter 7

Pouring espresso into a mug with one hand, Mario was checking the sports page in the paper with the other. Drying off from the slight rain, Mario was tired. Tired enough to be willing to forgive Luigi. All he wanted to do was finish his drink, read the sports, maybe watch some television and go to sleep. He had a lot of problems. He should have used the money he had left over in clearing off all of his debts. He'd hoped that modernizing the business would do that, but they were just racking on and on and on. He did what he thought was right, use the money to make sure that Donkey Kong and DKJ went to a good home in their natural habitat, but still... something about their ship confused him.

Mario almost jumped and dropped the espresso when the door began hammering. Getting up, sighing, and going to answer it, Mario was surprised to see it was Eddie, he figured that maybe Luigi lost his keys again or something. "She's not here Eddie! I wouldn't bring Pauline here!" Mario swore, not getting why the big cousin was here.

"I get why," Eddie said, looking at the mess of a room behind the plumber. "I'm not here about her. Look, I'm going to straight up say this genuine. My uncle's a nice guy, and if you get to Pauline closer if you hear me, you'll want to be on his good side. I didn't want to do this, but he says I need to get my boys back to work or it's m'ass on the curb and my face that get's my mom's slaps. Aight, das not tight. I need to get my boys back to work, I said that twice to emphasize the importance. Something needs to go on in that tunnel, an accident, maybe, a flood perhaps?" Mario looked confused, but he clearly understood.

"Why are you telling me, Eddie?" asked Mario, hoping for an easy way out.

"This is your field Mario," Eddie answered, offering exposition. "You know about pipes, valves, water... and your practically family."

"Yeah but I couldn't do that," Mario protested. "They're digging up history down there!" Eddie pulled a thick roll of bills from his pocket.

"Way I understand it, your money from that whole ape-escapade with it, then with its son, are dried out," he stated. "You're getting the business high but with all that money tailing on your ass it'll go low again. We're family Mario, let me help. You've just got to do this one thing for me, you don't know my uncle yet but promise me, if you meet him after this? You won't like him. I hear business is lousy. Think about it."

Mario considered it. That roll of bills could wipe out his entire debt. He eyed it, but that would be the easy way out. He knew it was what Luigi would do, what he wanted to do. Mario still held his ideals, principles and morals close to his heart though. "No way. Eddie I can't."

"Then think about this," Eddie said angrily. He put a magnum to Mario's head and clicked the barrel with his thumb and pressed.

* * *

At the tunnel in the excavation area, a flare of light illuminated the passageway's dark recesses. Daisy was in her bib overalls and wearing a hardhat with a laminated pass strapped to her shoulder. Luigi was right there alongside her, having had been eager to see some dinosaur fossils. She tilted a worklight over towards a rock strata, illuminating the formation. "This layer of rock is carboniferous sandstone," she told him. "It doesn't pop up on any geological map anywhere near this area. And here, there's something I feel I need to show you."

Luigi followed her and the bobbing light further down the tunnel. They stopped and Daisy shone it on the fossil of a strange creature. To Luigi, the head looked almost reptilian whereas the body looked humanoid except for the fact that it appeared to have some sort of casing, a shell maybe, over it's back. "The proportions of the bones here... the skeleton makes it seem almost like an early human... except for the fact that it has those," she said, pointing to it's mouth, where several rows of jagged teeth were sticking out.

"I hope he had a dental plan," Luigi joked, but his fascination overtook the joke and made a mere whisper that Daisy could not hear.

"It's beautiful," Daisy declared. "Almost as if it was a monster trying to be a human being..."

* * *

On the surface, the excavation site was roped off but idle. There were two police stationed there to make sure none of the striking workers would come back for sabotage, but they were being distracted by Eddie and one of his goons. The other associate was "escorting" Mario into the tunnel. Mario was carrying a bag and had a heavy duty tool belt strapped around his wrist. Even though he was being threatened into doing this, Eddie promised he would pay Mario... but how could the plumber live with himself? Luigi was fascinated with Daisy and if she ever found his brother ruined her dream. Not only that, so many students futures depended on the excavation of the tunnel and all so Eddie's uncle wouldn't lose a few he was ruining their lives as well.

Making their way to the pumping area, Mario was prodded forward by the goon. While they both carried flashlights, Mario shone his against the control panel. The valves and pipes were rusting with age and disuse, chances were the entire area was set to flood itself anyways. "Man, I really got a problem with this."

"Get on with it," the goon hurried him. "I've got to take my mother to church in the morning and I want to wake up early."

* * *

Luigi watched curiously as Daisy tenderly brushed some soil off of the skull of the dinosaur. "Could you give me some more light on this?" she asked him. Luigi moved over a tangle of cables and other work lights. He then bent over to pick up his dropped flashlights.

"Aaagh!" he cried as a black rubber truncheon shacked him in the back of the head. Slumping to his knees, Luigi keeled over with his hard hat rolling over across the rock-strewn ground. Daisy, however, was so invested in her work that she hardly noticed Luigi down on the ground and figured him to just be playing another joke or something of the sort. However, some sixth sense alerted her of the danger she was in. Turning around, she screamed as she saw two men try and grab her. Daisy tried to fight back, squirming, kicking, biting and screaming but to no avail. She was no match for them and they both started to drag her down into the depths of the tunnel.

Groggily getting to his knees at the hearing of a faint scream, Luigi rubbed the back of his head, the pain was immense and throbbing. "Daisy...?" he whispered. "DAISY!"

* * *

The rusting valve began to give way as it began to give leverage to Mario's wrench. Then there was a sudden rumble and roar from deep inside the machinery. Deeply disturbed by what he had to do, the look on Mario's face was not only one of sorrow, but disappointment that he had failed his own ideals. The goon once again prodded him with the gun, motioning for him to leave. They stepped through the door, closing it behind them. Heading upwards towards the surface, they reached the area where the tunnel forked off into the excavation area. Mario heard somebody cry out 'Daisy' and the realization hit him, Luigi and Daisy were still in the tunnel. "That's my brother down there!" Mario told the goon.

"Well what's the dumbass doing down there?" he asked back.

The door from where they exited began to burst open and suddenly, flooding water began to pour out in enormous bursts. Realizing the danger his brother was in, Mario gave no second thought about their quarrels or money issues and ran off for him, throwing the tool bag into the goon's hands. As Mario rounded the bend in the tunnel, knee deep in water, Luigi reacted with pleasant surprise. "Mario!" he cried out.

"We've got to get out of here kid!" ordered Mario.

"I've got to find Daisy!" cried Luigi. Grabbing the flashlight from Mario, he continued to head down the tunnel, going deeper into the depths which were now filling with water. Reacting in exasperation, Mario quickly tried to calculate the odds of the rising water. Understanding that he had no choice, Mario began to chase after his brother. With the tunnel ending in a cave, Luigi looked astonished. Where could Daisy be? The water began to deepen and swirl around them, duckboards, cables and scaffolding began to be swept up in it's torrent. Luigi began to look around wildly and then he saw it, in the darkest recesses of the cave there was a faint glow.

It was a rock, the glow got brighter and the rock began to vibrate. Then it rippled and through the solid surface, circumstances which neither brother could explain, ever, Daisy's face appeared. Seeing Luigi, she reacted like a drowning person going under for the third time, she flailed her hand out in desperation. "HELP ME!" she cried out. Luigi reached out for her, his fingers clamping around the pendent tied to her neck. Then solid hands reached through the equally solid stone and pulled her back. The rock swirled and shuddered, reaching over her, leaving Luigi with the pendent in his hand and the water to his knees. The brothers exchanged looks, wanting to deny what they just saw.

"She's in there!" Luigi declared and he began to thump on the rock like a madman, bruising his palms.

"And we're in here and we're going to drown!" Mario tried to rationalize the situation for his brother. In that exact instant the wall became fluid again and absorbed the two brothers, they were snatched through.

The only thing that could be heard amid the flooding water was Mario's reaction in consternation: "Oh shit!"


	8. Chapter 8

Mario moved through the wall and quickly examined the surface with his flashlight. It glistened and swirled, specks and sparkles shining like distant galaxies visible by the naked eye under a starry night on Earth. The water began to rush through. Mario blinked and reached out to touch the wall which had absorbed him and then sucked him out only a moment prior. It was solid, but the specks began to rush towards him like a starfield collapsing under the might of a neutron star. Bracing himself, he threw his shoulder against the wall. He fell back, recoiling in pain and then was gone.

For a few moments, Mario looked around, caught up in some kind of strange cosmic vortex. He saw several dozen worlds, a giant desert with snakes walking on their hind tails and fairies flying, a planet where giant bees were conversing with each other and more. None stayed in his memory for too long. Then the bizarre distortion of shifting dimensions began to solidify and the Super Mario Brothers found themselves in a sort of concealed underground chamber. Looking around, astonished, Mario could not say a word. The walls were rough-hewn, in them a depiction of a meteorite crashing to the ground was etched. Some were filled with a fluorescent moss that made them seem akin to a mix of cave drawings by children and graffiti by teenagers. "Did we die?" Mario heard Luigi say. "Are we in hell?"

"Nah," Mario brushed off the idea, although he was considering it seriously as well. "Purgatory more like it. I always figured hell would have accordion music." They looked around the room, wondering who had time to make something like this. They were lost in thought when the door in front of them cracked and slid open. An old man stepped through, he looked curiously at the two. Then he made his way towards Mario.

"I wasn't told no one else was coming through," he muttered. "You bring me anything?" Was this the man who took Daisy, their head were spinning, themselves dazed and unable to comprehend what exactly was happening. "They always bring me things." He yanked at his sweater to show them. "Benetton, and see?" He showed them his hand on which was a swatch watch. The two brothers were befuddled, who was this old man who was talking so kindly to them? "It's supposed to work underwater." No, this man was too strange to have taken Daisy.

"A girl came through here, right?" Luigi asked, and the old man nodded. "Where did she go? Where did -." He stopped short of trying to claim she was kidnapped.

"Cute ain't she?" the old man laughed, dirtily.

"He said where," Mario said, threateningly. Luigi got him into this mess, wherever this place was he was still trying to comprehend. Mario knew that whatever Daisy was in, it was a mess. He wanted to leave, just swim out of the tunnel and make his way... but if he left he would betray his morals once again. He had already ruined Daisy's life and dreams, the least he could do was save her life. She wanted help and Mario was not going to leave until he found her and rescued her. Then they would leave this underground pedo-cupboard and report it to the cops.

The old man raised a finger, his long nail filled with dirt and pointed towards the door. "Thanks," Luigi muttered and the two brothers headed out. They opened the door and looked at the black void in front of them. For a split second they were silhouetted against it to the custodian, who hit a switch and turned on the turbine. The two brothers were sucked upwards, screaming while trying to keep their caps on.

"Your welcome," the old man laughed crustily.

Their faces distorted by the g-force, their bodies were spinning in the updraft. Luigi arrived first, propelled into an opening in the floor and slowed down to have a safe landing in a tunnel. It was filled with a labyrinth of different coloured pipes and ducts and valves, a plumbers dream. He picked himself up and began to look around when he suddenly hurtled back down to the floor when Mario was sent crashing into him. Helping each other to their feet, the two stumbled a bit and took a good look around. "Okay," Mario tried to rationalize the situation they were in. "Reality check. We were somewhere beneath the East River, sucked into a rock, met Freddy Krueger wearing a Mets Cap - what does this tell you?"

Luigi shrugged, he had no idea. "I give up. What's the answer... maybe we're in a different subway system or an unused WWII or Cold War underground bunker?" Suddenly, the floor beneath them began to vibrate with water rushing through the pipes. A sound came overhead them, getting nearer and louder. It was akin to the rumble of a subway train but was on the other side of the wall in front of them. Flakes of rust and paint began to methodically drift down below them from above. Seeing the door in front of them, they opened it and the sight amazed their eyes.

At first they thought they were in New York City - but no, not quite. Not yet. The sky was full of smog and decay. Neglect had touched the core of wherever they were and it seemed like a parallel to the South Bronx, only much much worse. The walls beside them were not only cracked, but covered in a strange fungus, the mushrooms sprouting and growing wherever. Whoever was in charge of this place kept it clear from the aboveground easily. Mario looked up, expecting to see a giant roof that separated this place from New York, but he only saw the stars, almost covered amidst the smoke and smog and pollution that dominated the sky. Where were they? That was the question of the day. The seeping fungus half-obscured the graffiti, written in English, and the brothers looked around again. The lights were different than those in New York, red and dim. The trash receptacles were different. Mostly, the advertisements were different and they could not make up what they were about... it hit Mario in the back of the head but he could not believe it, they were in a different world.


	9. Chapter 9

Mario looked around, trying to figure it all out, make sense of it. He had the slightest idea that they had been transported to another world, but only the slightest. He could see the sky and he had never heard of this place before and the fact was that it was not underground and it was not near New York. It was not as if they had traveled fifty miles west or something to Detroit. Luigi was looking around for something else, Daisy. Then he saw her, further up along the platform, her arms shackled by two strange men wearing leather jackets. "DAISY!" he yelled out. She broke free and turned around and looked over the railing, it was Luigi.

"LUIGI!" she yelled. Quickly turning to see the two men after her, she ran for Luigi and he did the same. Mario trailed them, his eyes focused on the two men behind her. One was significantly older than the other, but just as deadly it seemed. She fell into Luigi's arms and he looked at her face, it was pale, frightened and confused. He then looked at the two men, who had stopped in front of them, blocking their way.

"How did you get here? What's happening?" Luigi asked her, not taking his eyes off of the two strange men.

"Those two brought me down here!" she cried, pointing a finger at the two. Their hair was slicked back into the shape of protruding scales, Mario noted. Whoever these men were, whatever this place was, it had some connection with the excavation site. Thinking harder he thought about the cave paintings, but the thought was just too crazy to believe.

The younger one took out a stun stick, a baton that head an electric end and held it towards Luigi. "Back off Brooklyn, we have no quarrel with you."

Luigi looked at him defiantly, only able to hear Mario muttering among the clatter. "This is a crowded place, Luigi," he whispered. "Nobody's paying attention to us, their just brushing by. They'll only notice if one of us dies. Do what they say kid. I don't know what that thing is but I'm betting it's loaded."

"Listen to your big brother," the younger one said. The two looked at him, astonished that he had heard that among all of the ruckus. The man tapped on his ears four times with his index finger. Luigi released Daisy and the older one grabbed her and began to pull her towards the open doors of the train. The younger one began to do the same, but kept the stun stick trained on Luigi. The older one seemed not to care too much about what was happening with the brothers, but the younger one, whose smile was deadly, was reckless and overconfident, Mario determined.

"We can't just stand here!" Luigi angrily stated. Once again he had come to crossroads with his brother! When would this end? When would they finally agree on something and just be able to help each other? First it's with free charity and then it's with helping somebody? Then Mario shoves his ideals which he never seems to follow up front? Luigi was fuming.

"Nothing we can do, kid," Mario said normally, aware of the younger one's acute hearing. It was a lie, though, a ruse and behind his back, Mario was taking out a metal wrench from his work bench. Suddenly underhanding it, he threw it at the younger one's elbow, causing him to drop the stun stick. Everything that happened next happened fast, the older one forced the girl through the open doors of the train. Before the two villains could get on with her, though, the Mario Bros quickly pushed their asses back onto the cold deteriorating metal. Daisy desperately tried to squeeze off the train, but she was crushed within a horde of people and could barely move back to the exit. Then the tram rode on, sending her to the next exit stop.

"Let's take them Uncle Spike," the younger one said.

"With pleasure Iggy," the elder, Uncle Spike, responded. "At least we can treat my cousin with the skulls of these mammals. We'll find the girl, but I'm going to enjoy this -." Caught in a monologue, Uncle Spike hardly noticed Luigi jump up on to the railing and then jump onto Spike's skull. The uncle was pushed down the ground and the back of his skull entertained the grating metal below him. Mario then picked up the stun stick, and seeing it worked like a taser, took out the younger one. Some commuters stopped and stared at the fight, but passed on within a few seconds. It was almost as if muggings and fights were a daily sight, even more so than in the bad parts of Brooklyn where at least a crowd could gather. But no, nobody even wanted to watch.

Watching the train move on, Luigi reacted in dismay. He had just saved Daisy and lost her in that exact instance. They watched helplessly as Daisy pressed for help against one of the windows, her pale face crying for Luigi. Then the train descended to the depths of Luigi's own personal purgatory.


	10. Chapter 10

Looking in the direction of the train, Mario tapped Luigi on the shoulder and ran. "C'mon, we can hurry to the next stop!" Running down the steps of the subway, the brothers advanced into the street and they reacted in sheer astonishment. Thrust in to the pulsing madness of this strange parallel of New York City that was not Yer York, they realized they were at it's hub. Staring up they saw a grotesque and twisted version of New York, as if it were stuck in the 90s and forgot to clean up. The place was ablaze with light and noise. The neon gas was blinking for rock'n'roll all over the place. The large crowd in front of them was swirling and shoving aggressively. Somewhere a woman was screaming and somewhere else two guys were screaming back. Atop the buildings, huge brightly animated billboards featured ads for cars and shoes. Suspended high over the streets was a wire mesh and sparks were constantly flying and raining down as kids tried to skateboard over it. The net was powering cabled cars below, whose telescoping rods were tipped with spring mounted tesla balls. They were battered beyond recognition and painted in Aboriginal war 's voice was a whisper as the two tried to take it all in.

"Where is this?"

"It's like New York but it isn't anything close to New York," explained Mario.

"Yeah, it's like New York on acid," suggested Luigi. Suddenly, the grid above flashed blue like an insect zapper just went off and two battered cars collided. The drivers reacted with indifference, as if they were driving bumper cars at Coney Island and just drove on. As they walked on in astonishment, the boys passed two hookers, one ho grabbed Mario by the shoulder and held him back.

"Hey boys," she approached them. "Wanna step on scales... get flayed?"

"Excuse me?" Mario asked.

"C'mon," she teased. "Read my hips."

"Move it, we're looking for a lady," Luigi said, trying to get her out of the way.

"Well roleplaying, huh? I can do that," she suggested.

"I said a lady," Luigi repeated.

"What're you a bunch of herbivores?" she taunted and moved back, letting the brothers they were clear, Luigi asked the question: "Where are we?"

"I don't know!" Mario stressed. "The Manhattan of the future, maybe that was an inter-dimensional wormhole that took us through another realm and then back to our world but in the future. Or maybe it did the opposite and took us the Bronx of '93! No wonder dad told me to never go there... or maybe, it's a parallel dimension. Y'know, sharing the same space as ours but unreachable unless we vibrate at the right frequency. That rock was vibrating, maybe it sent us to this dimension!"

"Where the hell did you learn physics?""Discovery channel," Mario answered.

Before he could explain his theory further by adding in the DC Comics Multiverse, the saw an old lady attempt to approach them. She wore a knitted cap and a long skirt, looking like a street person. However, she was friendly enough to greet the brothers."You boys from out of town?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're from uhh, not here, we're from east," Luigi awkwardly answered.

"So your from Toadsworth's land?" she frowned. "It's dangerous here, are you boys armed?"

"Not exactly, no." Luigi said quickly.

"Good," her mug went serious and she pulled out a stun stick, not dissimilar to the one Iggy had. "Give me all of your money, NOW!" Moving blindingly fast, she frisked the boys wallets. Mario tried to resist and was stung, falling to the ground as if he were hit by a cattle prod. The old lady looked at the dollar bills in their wallets and threw them back down at the two. "What the hell are these?" she asked. "I don't need paper I need gold koopons!"

"What the hell?" Mario asked. "That's almost two hundred in both of our wallets!" Then she turned the dial on her stun stick, both Mario and Luigi could tell whatever that meant, it was not good... but they heard the police sirens horned and sighed in relief as the old lady turned around, trying to look dazed and confused. It did not work on the cops, whose cars were not attached to the grid and were black, as was their uniform. It was there that Mario saw the logo on their cars, DPD, what the hell did that mean? The lady began to run for it, but it took a bullet to the knee to knock her out. Somehow, though, as if her bones were more dense than normal, she was able to keep running until she was tasered down. "Thanks officer," Mario thanked, approaching a cop.

"You boys compies or something?" asked the officer. "Getting taken down by a turnstile jumper, a hadrosaur at that!"

"We didn't know what she was!" Luigi remarked, wondering why the hell the cop called her a dinosaur. "We thought she was just some old lady." The cop's face furrowed upon hearing that.

"Let me see some face-fit."

Figuring he meant ID, Mario took out his drivers license.

"What the hell is this?" the cop asked.

"My drivers license," Mario answered.

"Y'ever hear of a drivers license?" the cop asked his partner. "Log'em!"

"On what charge?" Luigi protested.

"Failure," the cop answered, "to offer a bribe." He threw the two in the back of the car and moved on. The cop car sped down a ramp into the bowels of a building whose neon light flicked the signs: "Dinohattan Police Precinct - Metro Division.01". Inside the car, Mario and Luigi were panicking, much to the officer's chagrin, who thought they had too many magic mushrooms, and were watching in fright as the car seemed to be speeding up towards a brick wall. Before it could hit, the car was attached to arrester hooks, which seemed to be akin to what held fighter planes up on an aircraft carrier. Escorted out, Mario was astonished at what he saw. As a young guy, about Luigi's age, he was a hoodlum, a goon. It was what got him with guys like Eddie and dating Pauline in the first place. He had seen the back of a precinct many times... but this place? It was much more hellish than any New York precinct, even in Hells Kitchen, than Mario had ever been bailed out of. There was noise and chaos everywhere, Mario flinched as he saw cop execute a secretary and people just walk over her body as if it was an everyday routine. Luigi had never been a "goon" and so this chaos and shock was all new to him, if he ever went to an actual New York precinct he would probably be pleased. There was also a lot of noise coming from the other side of the room, which seemed to be a pound for crunched cars. The one they saw get snatched was being unloaded onto a pile of other vehicles. An attendant spray painted something onto a windshield.

"See what you got us into?" Mario asked Luigi. He knew he did not mean anything of what he said, he wanted to find Daisy as well but he was angry and needed to take out his frustration n somebody. "You knew nothing about that girl other than the fact that you owed her boss money when it should've been the other way around. You had to go chasing after, looking at old bones and prehistoric mesozoic history? That stuff is passed! You never pay attention to the here and now! When we're working, you look somewhere else! When your working, your concentrated so long as your trapped in a box where the only thing you can see is a valve!" Mario pulled out his wallet which had a picture of their entire family, Mario pointed to a picture of their father. "Do you know how disappointed he would be in you right now?" Luigi just glared at Mario.

"You talk of your ideals and your morals," Luigi stated. "You don't know where we are and that's when you draw the line. Talk so big of what you value, but I've never seen you follow principle once!" Mario wanted to hit his brother and was prepared to do so, the cops sensed it as well and cuffed the two before a fight could break out. Shoved into separate lines, the two brothers continued to stare at each other with growing anger. As they entered stalls, they tore off numbers from a dispenser and then sat on a metal bench riveted to the floor. It they could not find one or sit on somebody's lap, they would have to sit on the fungal grated floor. Booking officers sat at separate wire mesh windows blocked by a stall wall which had two revolving turntables in which prisoners would turn over their belongings. The brothers ended up side by side in separate lines, Luigi had stopped looking at Mario and was thinking back to how it all started. Mario kept looking at him with anger. "Do I got something on my face?" Luigi angrily asked. "What where you doing at the tunnel?"

"What?" Mario questioned. "Out of everything you ask me, first you question my ideals and now you go left hand?"

"I know how far back you and Eddie go Mario," Luigi stated. "What were you doing in the tunnel."

"I was saving your ass Luigi!" Mario roared. "But given the situation we're in, it doesn't seem like you really want saving now does it?"

The guard signaled for Mario to turn over his workbelt. Clipping it off, Mario placed it on the turntable. "That workbench you just put there? You had that on you. How could that save my ass, huh? And what about the place flooding all of the sudden? Maybe you took some grade A tools, started the pressure but blocked it off. I have a feeling perhaps that caused an enormous building from excess coming out the East River with it's traffic diverted it needed to go somewhere. Think I don't know nothing about the business now, Mario?"

"Take care of my tools, their grade A - my livelihood," Mario told the officer while looking at Luigi. "I had a gun held to my head, Luigi. You would've done the same, oh, no wait... you would've taken the bullet for Daisy and left me, Pauline and all to rot. You know how Romeo ended up, or did you not take English 11?" Luigi looked at him angrily and stepped to the next window and emptied his pockets. He put down a watch, a wallet, a St. Christopehrs Medallion and due to his reluctance to take out the next item, a hefty female officer grabbed it from him. It was Daisy's crystal. On her name tag it said Corporal Red Bertha. Much to her name, Bertha was wearing a red uniform. Grabbing the crystal, she put it on and turned a sister officer.

"Whadda ya think?" she asked.

"I want a receipt for that," Luigi claimed, he was intent on keeping the cyrstal. She laughed out loud, there was a fat chance he was getting that back. An officer whacked the two brothers in the back with a night stick and sent them back into the herd with the other prisoners. He also took off their cuffs, guessing correctly that the anger that the brothers had towards each other had to have subsided by then. They made their way to another officer who was wearing a football jacket somehow, on his tag it said Sergeant Chuck.

"Names!" he demanded, like Luigi's high school football coach.

"Mario Segale."

"Luigi Segale."

"Bail is fixed at five hundred koopons," declared Chuck.

"What do you mean like grocery coupons?" asked Mario. The wisecrack got him another whack by the nightstick. The prisoners went back in line, Luigi behind Mario.

"You know what your problem is Mario?" Luigi asked. "You don't care about anyone."

"No I know what my problem is," Mario fired back. "It's that I do care. You see if I didn't care about anyone I wouldn't have followed your ass down here and I would've pulled you out. I promised pop I would care for my little brother, who couldn't even be born on time and was still crapping in his diapers when I had to start working. Maybe if I had a sibling my age who I didn't ever have to look forward to, I could've gone to college I could've gone beyond plumber. But I didn't, because that was all you were supposed to do! Guess, what you failed! But you know what's worse, it was my job to make sure you wouldn't fail so tell me, whose the bigger loser. The loser or the idiot whow as supposed to make the loser win?" Luigi looked at him once, but not again. As they made their way forward Mario and Luigi were both visibly shocked to see two Jurassic Park velociraptor like creatures standing up front, with humanlike fingers and no tail wearing military armour approach them. "What the hell are those?" Mario asked the old lag in front of him.

"Goombas," the answer came back. Before Mario could ask further, both he and Luigi were grabbed and had a gas mask shoved onto their face and were thrown away then.

"What the hell was that?" Mario asked the old lag again, ripping off the gas mask.

"De-fungus, this your first time in here?" asked the old lag. Another goomba threw down a switch and the three were drenched in a spray of yellow gas. Recoiling at the smell, the brothers began coughing and retching and stumbled into the next room. Prodded forward, Luigi looked at the huge pneumatic drying machines, but they were out of order, leaving all three wet. Taken by two more goombas, the brothers were shackled against a wall and looked at the black wall in front of them. Then they saw the red dot move up their chests and to their forehead. Were they at a rifle range? The dot clicked and their mugshots were taken, destroying their fears that they were going to be executed.


	11. Chapter 11

The cells were nothing more than cramped cages, piled up top one another lit up by a singular and winding pale fluorescent tube. Forklift trucks were used to replace, detach and attach the cells. It was a very crude place, Mario observed: this entire place was going down. Something was happening, something recent in this place for only months maybe, that was causing it to deteriorate. When, though? Mario thought back, the first girl who matched Daisy's description was reported missing about seven months ago. Eight more followed since then. Whatever was choking the life out this city - Dinohattan - was what got the brothers involved.

The two brothers sat disconsolately in two conjoining cells, refusing to talk to each other after their little spat. The space was little and the third man in their "cell" was sleeping. Mario went over to him and saw him sleeping, like a pair of soiled rags. Luigi crawled over to join his brother. They checked out the cages on both sides, there were figures all around them. Mario figured them to be banging on the cages and all, but they were silent. Some had scales and some had razor sharp teeth. They were vicious cutthroat sociopaths, some had green skin that made them look reptilian. Mario thought back to the cave paintings, he was beginning to understand. "There's a lot of unexplained stuff in the world Mario," Luigi said, not looking at his brother's face. "UFOs, psychic phenomena and out of body experiences."

"I don't buy any of that bullshit," Mario nonchalantly responded.

"That's because you have a very closed mind," Luigi quickly said back. "Besides, it was you who suggested an alternate dimension. That's crazier than us both having a conjoined dream due to drowning moments before death, aka, Purgatory."

"And you believe everything you read at the checkout counter!" Mario shot back. "Maybe Elvis is in a tank somewhere her shaking his fat ass for you."

"Most unexplained," Luigi kept on going, as if he did not hear Mario. "Why we keep fighting. So where are we?" Mario could not answer. He and Luigi were at crossroads with each other, but wanting the same thing, but a different way to get there. It was as if the road mattered to them much more than the destination, or if there even was a destination. Maybe their series was prepared to go on forever and ever and ever. They weren't competing with each other, they were competing for each other... but the way they were doing it. Mario realized, it got to both of their heads. About to apologize, Mario noticed something. The bundle in the far corner stirred and turned to the light. He had an old and withered face. It was grizzled and lined, filled with watery eyes, he wore a spotted brown and red cap that almost seemed regal.

"You're in a subdimension," he revealed. "The real dimension exists all around us only we cannot see it, because we are subdimensional, see? One of you suggested this, no?" Mario nodded, but they did not get it.

"That is why everything is so out whack here," the old man continued. "It's filled with fungus, the system is corrupt and the music just isn't happening."

"Wait, I'm sorry," Luigi apologized in advance. "But who are you?"

"The name is Toadsworth," he answered. "I'm not from here, my kingdom his far to the west, beyond this wretched desert. I've been here for so long, almost fifteen years. I used to live in the desert as hermit, scavenging items to build my own personal escape. I want to go back to my king's land and get an army and thrash this place! Only... only they caught me before I could get the supplies needed to build a pneumatic system that could sustain me to get across the desert. It might work, except I can't remember how far the desert goes on until... wait... from who from where are you two?"

"You talked a bit but I'm Luigi and he's Mario, we're from Brooklyn," Luigi answered. Toadsworth's eyes lit up at the mention of the place.

"That's a mythological place, next to Manhattan and the Kitchen of Hell, yes? It's what our city is modeled after," Toadsworth answered. "Well, my city now. I came here so long ago to meet King Murphy. My land needed help... oh I shouldn't bore you with my life story."

"Wait, you mean your world and my world have crossed over?" Luigi asked.

"It's only a theory," Toadsworth added. "We're all dinosaurs here. The likely answer is you two are just amnesic and thinking your mammals, God knows they've come to look like us."

"Your a dinosaur?"

"Well only half, technically," Toadsworth answered. "Where I come from we're actually spliced, half reptilian half mammalian... but we consider ourselves reptiles." The same sergeant, Chuck, interrupted their conversation, walking down the ramp to their cell.

"Mario Brothers?" he asked.

"Yeah," Mario answered. "Wait... we want a lawyer and want to get out of this chicken coop!"

"Ah birds," Chuck sighed. "Anyways, you got a lawyer, follow me." He unlocked their cage and let them out.

"Mario," Toadsworth whispered. "Find my nephew, Dane T., please!"

They were led on from a high metal walkway below which was a room without a ceiling. Taken there, the brothers were thrust into tables and chairs bolted into the floor. On the opposite side of them was a single black chair in which a sole blue haired male sat. He rose when the two brothers came in, still ushered by Chuck. His blue hair, which seemed to be natural, was sleeked back into a ponytail. His suit made him look like he could be on the cover of Vogue and on the table was a lizardskin briefcase. He gave the two an ingratiating smile, but did not summon for Chuck to leave. "Hi guys! C'mon in and siddown," he greeted with a Manhattan-heavy accent. "I'm Ludwig von... y'know, forget the surname, I didn't read yours, forget mine! I'm from Lazard, Sauraus and Dactyl Incorporated!" He handed them each a business card and extended his hand out for them to shake it. Neither did but stared at the card as if to determine it's authenticity.

"Who sent you? You from the city?" Mario asked.

"You see, Mario, I'm from a little bit of everywhere," Ludwig responded. "A little bit of everywhere in all of us that can't see somebody wrongfully accused!"

"Yeah I bet? When do we get to meet the head honcho in charge of all this now," Mario said in a mockery, but the man in front of him did not seem to get that and just went on.

"Who, the Bowser? You mean the main man? The head honcho? El Supremo?" asked Ludwig. The man was quickly getting on Luigi and Mario's nerves. He was too... eccentric! "You must be talking about the Bowser. I assume you want to meet King Morton Koopa?"

"King Morton Koopa? What kind of a stupid name is that?" questioned Mario.

"Wait, that's the guy whose name is on all of the money!" Luigi pointed out. "We want to meet him."

"I don't think you do," Ludwig responded and when he spoke next, his voice was lowered. "You see, Koopa is one mean egg sucking bastard of wreck. Trust me on this."

"I need to ask some questions. Procedure, you understand," Ludwig started. "I believe the reason you guys are here is because you were following a young lady?"

"What young lady?" Luigi asked. If this lawyer knew about that, there was no trusting him. "Say, aren't you a bit young to be a lawyer. You seem my age."

"Don't slither me, man," Ludwig shook his head. "I know her name is Daisy. I just want the facts. Age?"

"I don't know," Luigi truthfully stated. "Twenty, I'd wager."

"Parents?" Ludwig asked silkily.

"She's an orphan," Luigi answered, his voice low.

On the walkway above them, they heard the clatter of feet. Mario and Luigi looked up, not noticing Ludwig's constant gaze. It was a whole bunch of different girls of all shapes and sizes herded by female officers. Bertha was not one of the officers. "Can you see her?" Ludwig asked, his gaze on Luigi's eyes.

Luigi turned to whisper to Mario. "I don't trust this guy. His demeanor... it's too cold blooded." Ludwig's hearing was extraordinary, even better than Iggy and Spike's. He smiled at the remark.

"The sooner we find her the sooner you can go... _home_," Ludwig suggested. Then Daisy walked on the walkway, looking pale and crushed among the many girls missing. How many had those two taken? Mario wondered the exact number, calculating the months inside, but the mathematics were not going to calm him down. He needed a way out, but he could not betray his brother. He had to prove that his ideals were true.

"LUIGI!" Daisy cried when she looked down the walkway. Both brothers looked in frustration as if she had done the wrong thing, but it dawned on them almost instantly, what could they have done? Chuck was in the room with weapons and this Ludwig fellow was too shady to be trusted. Luigi's thoughts were confirmed when the man spoke.

"There she is," his true accent revealed and it was New York. Strange that these people had so many parallels but only believed in the actual New York as a myth. "Release the others, where I don't care. My father only wants her." One of the female guards grabbed Daisy and began to drag her protesting body down the other end of the walkway.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Luigi screamed and jumped on Ludwig. Putting his wrists together, he started to garotte the man's throat but was speared down by Chuck.

"None can touch Ludwig von Koopa, royal son of our great King-President, Morton Koopa!" roared Chuck, as if the dialogue had been indoctrinated into his brain. "On your knees when you address Prince Ludwig!"

"Now, now, we haven't official turned royal," wheezed Ludwig.

"You're the son of Koopa, but you said -," Mario was actually shocked.

"That he was one mean egg sucking bastard of wreck," Ludwig reitered. "I know what I said, and given wreck is a synonym for Dark Land, where my father hails from... just look at how badass I am, do you really think I would be lying?" He turned on his heels and walked away.

Chuck picked Luigi up to his feet and began to escort him and Mario into another room. They walked a bit of a distance this time. In the end, though, they were completely taken aback and shocked. They were in a high roofed, windowless and sinister chamber. There was a bank of controls and gauges situated in the center of the room, with the middle leading into an elevated track ending in a control pod. It opened and a chair was catapulted onto the rails. It was akin to an old dentists' chair with a neck brace and hand cufflinks. A goomba was strapped into it.

The brothers looked around and down walked a woman, younger than Ludwig, blonde, but powerful and dominating looking walk in. The brothers did not focus on her, though, but rather on the device - or rather, contraption - in front of them. The goomba was helped from the chair by two others, he was groggy and jelly limbed. "If you asked me which mammal could take out which brother of mine, I would of course say Iggy," the girl claimed. "But Ludwig. You dirty mammals got him by surprise." She turned to a figure beside her, a boy, about twelve years old. "This is my younger brother Larry, it's time to show him what an ape is.

"And just who the hell are you?" Mario retorted.

"I am Princess Wendy Koopa, mind your tongue cretin!" she said sternly. "You may understand evolution to be a simple process, which, given your brain size, you may even know less of. It is a process of change, things evolve from primeval slime to single celled organisms up to intelligent life. Of course, de-evolution goes the other way around. Given that Dinohattan has limited resources and we don't want to fuel in from Dark Land, you should know that we take the undesirables and prisoners and turn them into... goombas, because you see, de-evolution doesn't work by natural selection, it works by artificially selected organism." Larry pulled a lever and the pod doors opened again, but instead of just the dentist chair, out came a goomba, straightjacketed and tied up. Escorted out, he looked around stupidly as the other goombas led him away.

"What the hell did you evolve from that makes you and all your brothers so especial?" Mario asked.

"Why, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the kings and queens of the world in their age, of course. Thus, I am lizard royalty," Wendy said as a matter of factually. An idea came to her and she asked her brother, in a much more kind voice, "How about a demonstration?"

"Who should we choose?" he asked. His voice was still that of a child's, obviously he had not hit puberty.

"Bring me... anyone!" she told Chuck. He left the room and came in with a random figure.

"You may know these, as I was informed you were talking with Toadsworth," Wendy said. The brothers looked at the figure and saw he was wearing a cap like the old man, but it was red and white. "When he came here years ago, these... Toads... came with him. Put him in! My father's kingdom has an important rule of recycling. As stated, we take people from the prisons and make them goombas!" The Toad was strapped in and screamed as the electricity surged into him. His features began to change, slightly, and smoke covered him. When he awoke, he was like the goomba they saw before, and the one before that! Disgustingly dinosauric...

"An alternate dimension where dinosaurs never died out," Luigi sighed. "Who knew..." Larry turned the dial all the way and the smoke cleared. The Toad stepped out and aside for a faint fluorescent glow, seemed the same. Then he took a step and split into a violet hued liquid like the senator from the first X-Men movie.

"You obliterated him!" Mario yelled at Larry.

"You do not talk to my brother like that!" said a third voice. A gigantic and imposing figure entered the room, Mario and Luigi figured him to be yet another brother. He was not particularly large, but could give trouble, Mario and Luigi supposed.

"Ah, Roy, are you done attending with Lemmy's shenanigans? I need your help here," Wendy sighed.

"No," Roy, the third Koopa child, said. "But I was passing through and these are the plumbers Iggy brought? How insolent! Obliterated? How stupid! He was turned into ooze, practically immortal. I've seen it work on lizards and hybrids like the toads, but Wendy, it'll be interesting to see it on a fully grown mammal, now won't it."

"Yes it will," and another one entered. This one was too guessed to be another brother. This one was small, smaller than Larry, but he looked older.

"Ah, Lemmy," Roy proclaimed. "I want you to watch this. Maybe if you don't quit your tricks, I'll turn you into one of these as well!" This was it for Mario. He knew it was the end, so what was the hope in trying to fight back. Breaking free of his bonds, he punched Roy in the face. "What was that? A baby punch?" Mario tried again. "If it doesn't hurt me? It'll probably hurt you trying to hit my brother Morton!" Luigi ran to try and help his brother, but was zapped down by Chuck. Chuck then tried to zap Mario, but he jumped up and the blast hit Roy in the knee, causing him to stagger. Taking the chance, Luigi jumped on Chuck, knocking him down a few notches. Mario pushed Roy into the devo machine as his brothers and sister watched, aghast.

"STOP HIM!" Wendy ordered Lemmy, who tried to jump on Mario, but was pushed out of the air by Luigi. Turning the dial, sparks began to fly and the machine began to affect the Koopaling.

"OFF! TURN IT OFF!" Roy roared. Lemmy ran out of the room, looking for either Ludwig or his other brother, Morton Jr. and in a second, a giant figure, at least Wilt Chamberlain tall, and slightly tanned burst into the room. As he pulled his brother out, who began to have a greenish hue to his skin, Mario and Luigi hauled their asses out of there.


	12. Chapter 12

His name was King Morton Koopa. He was the King to signify his rule over Dinohattan, no matter how mammalian he thought the title was. He was called Bowser because the name was given to him by Murphy, the previous king of Dinohattan. He was called Morton because it was the name his father gave to him. He was called Koopa because it went full circle and Koopa meant Tyrannosaurus Rex. He was power incarnate. Born in to the royal Koopa line, Morton had been sent out by his father to study military tactics in Dinohattan. Being a Koopa, King excelled and became good friends with King Murphy, who bestowed upon him the title of Bowser. In recent years, though, people were calling him a false Bowser, believing him to be unworthy of the title. When he saw the surface world of New York City, he attempted to recreate Dinohattan in it's image, creating cars, subway transits and skyscrapers. He was going to sanitize the desert, if it were not for that fungus! At thirty-seven years old he had accomplished that which most people did at the ages of sixty to seventy. His eldest son, Ludwig, was eighteen years old and set to inherit the throne. Bowser had made a dynasty, a kingdom and become his own man, no longer clinging on the shadow of his father or the money of King K. Rool.

In his castle, Bowser's Castle, towering crystalline windows overlooked the city. On one side of the room was a command center, which contained several computer consoles. On the other side was the bedroom, with a spacious bed, a banquet table and a sunken pit with a bar. The marble floor was strewn with torn sheets, gutted pillows and empty bottles. A fiercely sexual female creature lay stretched on the floor, panting in exhaustion, her reptile skin dress clinging in tatters. She was Lena, the second wife of the king. Across the room was Koopa himself, his brow covered with sweat. He was coldblooded, though, it did not bother him. Dressed in a black warlord's robe, his hair was spiked up. It was pale blonde, though for a second, Lena could've sworn she saw it flare red. "That was incredible," Lena proclaimed. "Now... let's have sex."

Looking at the egg in front him, it was his and Lena's child: Bowser Jr., his eighth child. Many called Koopa cruel, even Rool himself, but they could not deny one thing, he cared a lot for his children. Bowser Jr. Koopa was going to be the first child of King's in fifteen years, he would be a great conqueror, maybe even powerful enough to take out Rool himself. Walking over to the window, Koopa looked down philosophically. "We're losing our backbone as a people, Lena! There're citizens down there eating vegetables! Even fruit! When a race stops devouring flesh they are made for the museum!"

"You think your princess can change all of this?" Lena sulkily asked. She was not looking forward to being a mother, she believed it took away from her youth. She was thirty-five. She detested Bowser's other children. The fact that her husband's kingdom was to be divvied up amongst her son and Ludwig. She hated that music playing bastard, born to Morton's first lover.

"If I don't, we are lost," he proclaimed. He was especially fit, stronger than any of his children, though in his own estimates, Ludwig would grow more powerful than him eventually. The thing about Koopa was that most his strength was scientific, he did not rely on Kamek like Ludwig would. Nonethless, the fact that his son aspired to achieve more and more powerful was wonderful. It meant that he had chosen a worthy heir. A discreet buzzer sounded, a monitor showed the faces of Bowser's son Iggy and his cousin Spike. He nodded to Lena who uncoiled herself from the bed and pulled a dial. "If you failed again, Spike, I will have you de-evolved, damned be what my father says," Bowser proclaimed. Spike noted how the king berated him and not Iggy. Perhaps it was because Iggy was a son of the president and he simply the mere cousin.

"We've found the girl, dad," Iggy revealed.

"Really, another girl?" Bowser sighed. "I didn't ask for you to supply me a harem, Iggy! I asked for one girl! The right girl!"

"We know it's her, Ludwig got her to identify herself, except...," Spike's voice trailed off.

"Except what 'cousin'?" Bowser's voice sounded so angry, Iggy could've sworn he saw

"It wasn't our fault - it was Wendy, Roy, Larry and Lemmy - she was followed through the gateway!" Iggy nervously said. "They were big guys, they jumped us! Two of them! they tried to devolve Roy!"

"What a bunch of invertebrates!" Lena declared.

"We go them arrested but Roy screwed up and they escaped!" Iggy tried to reason with his father, whose glare was legendary at that point in time.

"Boy I'm going to forgive you now, I'll deal with these mammals later," Bowser said violently. "Is Daisy in her room?" Iggy nodded. "Good. Now leave." The Koopaling and his uncle both departed.

"You've been acting strange," Lena noted. "Do you feel different?"

"I've been testing the devo machine," Bowser told her. "K. Rool transformed into a giant lizard and retained his conscience. He cannot turn back. All of these changes you've been seeing, it's me. I'm trying to figure out a way that'll allow me to turn all the way back to a prehistoric ooze and back whilst retaining my mind. So to answer your question, I feel better if anything. Energized. Invigorated." He picked up a printout of the brain scan Spike left on his drawer. "She's the one. The brain scan confirms it."

"You don't care that these men have made a fool out of all your children?" Lena asked, her eyes flashing with anger and jealousy.

"No one makes a fool out of the Koopalings!" King Bowser Koopa roared. "The plumbers escaped because my men are incompetent!" During this moment of rage, something happened to Bowser. His brow began to protrude outwards and his eyes began to widen. His skin turned yellowish and his hair bright red and his teeth were pure sharp. Lena gasped at the sight and he quickly reverted back. "What are you staring at?" he asked. Turning to the mirror to see if there was anything on his face, Bowser never saw his transformation.

* * *

The elevator purred as it's two lacquered doors opened to reveal Daisy, accompanied by a thug. His name tag identified him as Lakitu. Prodding her forward into the room, the elevator doors closed behind her, leaving her alone. The people, although they had held her captive, had been nice to her. She had bathed and washed &amp; combed her hair. In the new ankle-length dress, though, she considered that she looked vulnerable and perhaps even virginal. The lights dimmed and cast an eerie yet seductive glow around the suit. Hearing the sound again, Daisy was shocked and startled to see a six foot saurian right behind her, looking at her carefully. As it moved towards her, Daisy backed away. "Don't worry, Yoshi won't hurt you," said a familiar voice. Daisy turned around to see a man, about her age - maybe a little bit younger. Thinking back, she remembered, this was the man interrogating Mario and Luigi, the very man who identified her. "Don't be afraid, Yoshi won't hurt you," he said. "My grandfather sent them here, he had conquered their island. You can go ahead and touch him, just try not to move your fingers around like a small wounded animal. He's got quite the tongue."

"I can't believe it," Daisy exclaimed. "Dinosaurs died almost sixty six million years ago."

"Correct Daisy," he applauded. "Sigma is a strange star, the only one both of our planets can see. I suspect that the asteroid that hit the Yucatan, also something both our planets share - the blast impact crater - split the universe into two parallel dimensions."

"Who are you?" Daisy asked, turning her mind away from all the crazy sci fi nonsense.

"My name is Ludwig von Koopa," he answered. "I have the privilege of being the heir to... well... anything I can see, really."

"If you saw your city from the street you might think differently," Daisy pointed out.

"Oh, I rarely venture so low," Ludwig responded.

"It's disgusting, decayed and rotten!" Daisy proclaimed.

"Then welcome home, princess," Ludwig held his hands out.

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked.

"Your mother came from here," Ludwig answered. "It's why my brother and uncle had to bring you back."

"My mother? Is she still alive?" Daisy asked.

"I'm afraid not," Ludwig slowly, and cautiously said. "She... was a gatekeeper between this world and the next... she had special powers and her family had a special position in society, back when things weren't like you saw. She took you to that world of mammals. I was a child when all that happened, I can't remember any of it. I wouldn't have cared if she betrayed that trust, but rumors say it was Kamek, our God, who hunted her down. I have a chance to fix all of this, do you have _it_?" Ludwig put a finger to her neck, to indicate what he shuddered as his hand came near.

"It feels, strange? Warm?" he asked. "That's because your hair, your skin. It's not like that. Your hair are tiny mico-fiber feathers, why do you think you only have them on your head? Your skin, very soft scales... do _they_ have it? Did they take it from you?" The way he pronounced his words, as if he had a Bronx accent but had the inflections so lazily said, was disgusting. "Maybe your friends do have it, maybe you should know what my father will do. Or perhaps you should just watch the television." With that he left.


	13. Chapter 13

The brothers' feet clattered on the metal ladders and they ran into the door in front of them, taking them to the police officer's parking lot. About a dozen cars, their antennae linked up to the mesh above. Getting in to one of the cop cars, Luigi commented. "You don't know how to drive this."

"A car is a car," Mario reasoned. Throwing some switches on the strange automobile, the electricity flared through the cable. "All right, lets hit the bricks!" Speeding the car forward, they noticed the goombas descending upon them. Seeing the yellow and black gate coming down, Mario rammed through it and started to make the way back to the city. Fishtailing into heavy traffic, Mario swore, "Find the siren." Luigi started mashing around some buttons and hit the radio. Very quickly they found the cops were aware of their escape. Just as the cops began to make it out of the precinct, the siren came to life and traffic in front of them began to clear. Seeing two cars come near them, Mario and Luigi were shocked as two pistols were reared towards them. Using the car's bumper "capabilities" Mario rammed into both of them to throw them off. The two cop cars fired, Mario hit the brakes and turned. With a passing glance Luigi saw something, he believed the two cops to have shot each other. Swerving to avoid the carnage of the traffic, they listened closely to the radio as they began to plan out their next move to avoid the cops getting to them. Heading for a blocked off tunnel, he heard Luigi go "no, no, no" and sped up. The only way to avoid the cops was to go somewhere they hopefully would not go.

Splintering the barrier. The police car sped into the dark depths of the tunnel. The rod waved uselessly as it broke contact with the power gird and slowly, the car began to run on it's reserve electricity before dying. The windshield, crazed with a web of cracked glass, was broken as Luigi kicked it apart. The lights of the car illuminated the tunnel, which Luigi quickly identified as being part of a gigantic water pump. It's walls were lined with fungus all over, blocking any obvious water supply. The car's lights began to fade and soon it's motor did as well. "We're not on the grid! We've lost power! I knew you shouldn't have brought us here!" Luigi yelled at his brother. Ignoring his little brother, Mario Segale looked around with the last light and saw a switch for auxiliary power, hitting it, the car slowly hummed back to life on reserve electricity once again. Slowly, but surely, they sped out of the tunnel and into the cold Koopahari Desert.

* * *

As morning reached, for what seemed like the millionth time, the sun once again failed to hit the morning breeze, with it's glow barely making it past the thick clouds, giving them a sickly yellowish glow. The clout in the sky seemed treacherous and if one inspected it closely, they would realize that the clouds were holding back the rain as they were filled with spores. Some good herbicide would help clear it up and let the sun once again fall down, but these people did not know of it. Wind was the only noise, it was strong enough to have half buried the police car throughout the night, though only the back half. With barely any light coming on the brothers from the shattered windshield, they slept. A terrifying plant like creature flew across them, the flapping of it's leaf-like wings wakening the brothers. "Get outta here!" Luigi screamed and jumped through the windshield. Mario saw the flying plant and too ran out.

"I ain't getting eaten by Petey Pirahna!" he declared and the two brothers ran off.

The bird-like-plant left them alone, but it appeared to keep a watch on from the distance. "Where are we?" Luigi asked, again.

"You keep asking that!" Mario snapped. "We're in some Koopa Kingdom! Some Dinohattan as they call it! A place where dinosaurs became men!"

Reaching a top of a sand dune, one watching could slowly see their heads come into view. They could slowly see Dinohattan come into view. Seeing it for the first time in perspective was astonishing. It was almost exactly like Manhattan Island, except the aqueducts which would form the river around the city were all dried up and Mario looked around and realized. There was more to this place! Much of this desert would actually have been a river that connected to a larger area! Instead, it was not surrounded by water but rather waste. Looking further they saw an imposing tower-like-castle of tyranny. Probably King Koopa's castle, Mario figured. It's top was obscured by a strange smog. "Looks like someone nuked New Jersey," Luigi nonchalantly said.

"I feel like a jerk," Mario came out and said, regretting all he had said to Luigi.

"Don't, it was my fault," Luigi apologized. "I got us into this entire mess."

"Yeah, but it was me that flooded that tunnel," Mario responded.

"So what're we gonna do now?" Luigi asked. "We got no food or water or juice?"

"Whatever it takes," Mario declared. "Who are we?"

"The Super Mario Brothers."

Their confident mood was suddenly shattered by the whirr of a helicopter, which came near to investigate what looked like two red and green figures. A door slid open, but it was not a gun, but a video camera. "Oh no, I've watched enough American Gladiator to know what this is," Mario said. With the lens focusing, they began to run down with Mario realizing that Ludwig or whoever was interrogating them had just placed a bounty on their heads. They could hear a bit of the broadcast coming from the helicopter, but only a slight bit of it. Something about games. Mario knew he was right. Heading towards the city, Mario took the flamethrower he picked up from the cop car and leveraged it at something he saw in the distance. From the deep throated roar of engines, several black vehicles showed up. It was an assortment of vehicles, from trucks to tanks, the brothers threw a glance at each other but said nothing. "I wanted to say something, kid, I'm sorry I dragged you into plumbing after everything at the uni didn't turn up good."

"What're you talking about?" Luigi asked.

"You could've done something better with your life."

"Mario, I love my life," Luigi responded. "I love plumbing with you, and I'd love to keep doing it. So lets get the hell out of here!" The moment unified them, Mario shed any last bit of guilt that he had and with stoical resolve, they faced what appeared to be their imminent destruction. The frontrunners looked at Mario and Luigi for a second and then turned their attention to each other. They realized it, they could destroy the brothers, but with so many around so many would claim the bounty. They started firing on each other, tank shells going everywhere. The noise was deafening. One vehicle, however, decided to take advantage of the war and began to zig zag through the chaos and make it's way towards the brothers. It was an armoured car driven by goombas and on the end of it appeared to be a harpoon gun. One of the goombas scrambled out and somehow did not fall down, but rather made his way to the gun. Firing, the net enmeshed Luigi within it and the plumber stumbled down. Horrified, Mario ran to his younger brother. His pursuit was desperate, but not in vain as the other teams saw the malicious victory of the goombas. In their pleasure, they did not realize another team closed in on them and with the shot of a rocket, that team was gone. The remaining goombas took out what looked like uzis and began to trade fire. It gave Mario enough time to torch through the net with the flamethrower and get Luigi out. The exchange let some of the slower vehicles catch up to the front lines, but the artillery was slowing everyone down.

Within the thick black smoke that formed, Mario took Luigi out of the net and they both began to run. When they both began to run out of the smoke, it was in vain for right in front of they saw Larry and Lemmy, two of the "Koopalings" present at the devo chamber, train their weapons on Luigi. Mario put his flamethrower against them. "Try it plumber and your brother is going to be riddled with bullets."

"Taste it big brother," Larry said to Lemmy, even though his elder brother was shorter in stature than he. "How proud dad is going to be that we did something that his precious Ludwig couldn't do. Maybe he'll make us dual heirs!"

"Oh yeah," Lemmy agreed.

Suddenly there was the sound of a deep throated dune buggy encroaching upon the four brothers. Luigi only got a glimpse of the driver, he was wearing goggles. The Koopalings flung themselves out of it's path and the buggy fell, cushioned in the sand. The driver put a blow dart to his lips and sent the darts out at Larry and Lemmy. The two fell to the ground, writhing in pain. "My name is Dane T., I need to ask you guys some questions so get in!" he cried. The two brothers complied and then got a look at his bandana, it was just like Toadsworth's, but it was white with red polkas.

"Thanks man!" Mario shouted. "Are they dead?" He gestured to the inert bodies of Lemmy and Larry, the two overeager saurian teenagers.

"Kill the sons of Bowser? That's suicide!" remarked Dane Toad. "No, they're just knocked out." The Toad put to the pedal to the metal and sped them away from the chaos, not noticed by any.


	14. Chapter 14

Mario and Luigi looked at the city once again in shock at the cesspool of filth and muck that made up the city of Dinohattan. A sinister looking black helicopter, not like the one they had seen previously, was leaving the city. It went past what appeared to be a gigantic statue in a forest of swampy vegetation. It was of a giant female lizard, resembling the Statue of Liberty in many ways. Only that the lower hand held a pistol and that the upper hand held a burning book. The spikes on her crown continued back down to her tail... "The last construction that President Murphy ever ordered, finished under the reign of Koopa," Toad told them, aware that they were both in awe.

Making their way to Dane's hideout, they found it to be a quarry, no longer used. The dune buggy went under a carport, a tarp strung up over four poles. Making their way into his hole, they saw that every inch of it was covered with paraphernalia. What was not on the ground was suspended from the ceiling. There was everything: miner's hats, bicycle frames, pick axes, bizarre musical instruments and some photos which showed there were many more Toads in the city. The brothers sat down on rickety chairs, Dane Toad moved over to a rusting mine cart and took out three bottles and handed two to the brothers. "You got any glasses?" Mario asked.

"No," Dane answered. "You're supposed to sniff it, it's an inhalant that'll put your strength up. Not like anabolics or anything, it's an ingredient from the Sthuul Kingdom. If you drink it you'll suffer profound melancholia for a week. If you inhale it, well, you'll be three times stronger than you normally are." Mario took a quick sniff and tried to hide his distaste, but he could not deny it was very good smelling. "On my police radio, I got that you guys escaped from the precinct. Tell me, how many of my kind, Toads, were in there?"

"There was one old guy, your name is Dane T., right?" Luigi asked.

"Dane Toad, that's right."

"Yeah, an old guy, Steward Toadsworth I think," Luigi responded. "He told us to find you if we escaped, but, quite frankly, you found us."

"All right, so he's okay."

"Excuse me," Mario interfered. "But what are you exactly?"

"Half-mammal, half-reptile," Toad answered. "I came here with about fifty other of my tribesmen, Toads you can call us. Many are dead now, my uncle, Steward Toadsworth, not his real name, but... most of us have assimilated. If they scan us, they can tell most of our hair isn't micro-fiber feathers but hair. When there were rivers leading out to Rogueport and all, we came as ambassadors, willing to colonize an embassy on behalf of King Sthuul. About a year in, though, King Koopa became Bowser and took over and he's the new King."

"What's the deal with this Bowser anyhow?" Mario asked. "We've seen his picture everywhere! Doesn't anyone run against him?"

"No," Toad answered. "Look, this is a monarchy. I hate it."

"So you can't elect anyone?" Mario wanted to make sure.

"Do the Bowser," Toad confirmed.

"Has it always been like this?" Luigi inquired.

"No," Toad answered. "Back in the day, when I was like, what? A year old, King Murphy was planning on transitioning to an elective monarchy. He was a much better ruler, or so I hear. Basically, Bowser wanted to be the monarch, I hear, and overthrew him. He modifed their devo machines and made it so that if mutated Murphy into all this fungus. Now that fungus has gotten a grip. From what I believe, his spores are blotting out the sun and clogging the waterways. He is starving this city of it's foundation because he wants to get back what is his. That's just my theory... but with all this fungus, there is no way I'll ever get to Rogueport and on a ship to King Sthuul."

"Look, we've got to get back to the city and rescue Princess Daisy," Luigi revealed. "Can you drop us off?"

"Drop you off?" laughed Dane Toad. "I'll help you!"


	15. Chapter 15

Nearing the city, floodlights illuminated the mountains of garbage and filth covered with fungus. Mushrooms were sprouting everywhere. Huge dump trucks were piling what appeared to be excrement everywhere, then bulldozers pushed it further into an adjacent pit. The drivers wore gas masks and protective clothing, as if they were working with toxic waste. It was reasoned by Mario as possible, given that too much methane could kill a man, easily something cold blooded. Choking on the gas, Toad quickly assured him, "Just relax, it'll fade soon."

Making it to a truck, the driver was raising the rear-end to dump his load with two of his crew helping out the refuse with two long poles. In an instant, they were on the ground, clutching their necks. Mario grabbed a gas mask and pulled the driver out, but grabbed his tunic. Putting it on, he handed a gas mask to Luigi and another to Toad. Making their way to a gate, they were registered by the guardsmen and allowed passage through. "Okay, guys. This Daisy, the only reason Bowser could want her is if the tells on the streets are true," Dane said. "From what I hear, she's the daughter of a portal keeper to your world, meaning she can manipulate some sort of a crystal. That true? I mean, you guys know her."

"Yeah," Luigi affirmed. "She had a crystal, but some lady cop took it." They then reacted to the looming statue ahead of them.

"The Statue of Repression, I told you, made by King Koopa," Dane revealed. "It wasn't meant to be like that... Bowser turned it into a symbol of tyranny. He overthrew Murphy when the king was vulnerable because, well, y'know, his wife had been missing for a while. He'd go back to his normal good self, though. Forget that, though. If some female cop took the crystal, she'll probably be hanging out at the Boom Boom Bar. It's a joint for cops and sometimes goombas."

"We don't look like either and we smell," Luigi pointed out.

"There's a shower in that house, abandoned, owner is now a goomba," Dane pointed to the side. The brothers squeezed in through the door, both took quick showers and put on borrowed clothes. They slicked their hair back with grease. Mario was wearing a read suit with blue pants and Luigi green overalls and a white shirt. Luigi's cap was white and Mario's was red. Making their way to the bar, all Mario could see was another redneck joint. Fights everywhere.

"I don't see her," Luigi remarked.

"Maybe she's in the private club," Dane suggested, pointing upwards to the ceiling. Leading them up a metal staircase, only a faint music sound alerted them that there still was a club beneath them. The masonry was rotted from fungus and tiny lizard-rats scurried beneath them. Reaching a black thick door, they pushed it open to reach disco and music galore. Everything was pumping and the lighting was red. The dancers seemed like they were from the fifties. They saw her on the dance floor, she was out of uniform squeezed into a rubbery tight snakeskin dress. The crystal flared around her neck as she danced. Mario was horrified at the sight. Luigi saw the crystal too and pointed out to her, the facets of the crystal's surface reacting negatively with the strobe lights. "Leave this to me," Toad claimed. "Here's the run. I ask her for a drink, slip something into it, and do it with hr."

"Do it with her?" Mario asked, unable to get the disgusting image out of his head.

"I mean get the crystal smartass," Toad said. They watched Dane go and approach her, and quickly get short armed across the dance floor.

"Plan B, _let's_ dance," Mario grabbed Luigi and went on to the dance floor. As they began to try and get into the groove of the dance, they also started to try and maneuver themselves closer to Bertha. Suddenly, a very beautiful woman cut in between the brothers and got to Mario and began gyrating on him, sending him a very seductive smile.

"Let's dactyl down!" she exclaimed and her whims had ensnared Mario, much to Luigi's discomfort. Toad pulled Luigi off the floor, looking incredibly pissed off.

"Does your brother know who he's dancing with?" Dane questioned.

"No," Luigi pointed out. "Why? Is she married?"

"Yeah," Toad answered. "She's also soon to be a mother to her husband's eighth child. Her husband is Bowser! That is Lena!"

"Wait, if she's about to be a mother how come she isn't pregnant?" asked Luigi. "Or look it."

"She doesn't have mammalian insides like you and I, she laid an egg," Toad answered. Mario and her dance reacted with a ripple of applause across the dance floor. The other dancers, including Bertha, began to move apart to give the two room. At that moment they were hot, happening and with the pulsing music, the floor was practically jumping. "Oh shit!" shouted Toad, noting Lena's hand gestures. "I don't what she's doing here, but she's telepathed the goombas from her wedding ring." Sure enough, goombas surrounded the dance floor. "As soon as the dance stops, they will cuff your brother." Frustrated, Luigi thought about how to get out of this one, just as the music was making it's way to a crescendo. Pushing through the crowd, Luigi looked up at the disco ball. Rising hysteria as the dance climaxed, a few beads of sweat trickled down Mario's forehead and onto Lena's near exposed breasts. Jumping up to the DJ's table, Luigi leaped into the air and grabbed on to the disco ball. The crowd gasped and he sailed over their heads, landing squarely on one goomba and knocking the other three down.

Smelling a fight, the cops joined in and attacked the goombas head on. Pandemonium was unleashed and in the strobes a practically psychedelic Lena was pointlessly screaming orders. Very soon, Bertha joined in the fight, swinging at everything and anything. A goomba grabbed her neck, snapping the crystal's cord. It clinked and fell to the floor, Mario and Luigi quickly got down the floor to try and get it. With it being difficult to know what was real in the hallucinatory mayhem, Luigi cried out in frustration when a foot kicked the crystal away from his hand. Mario crawled through the feet and found the crystal, hands on it, a boot came smashing down on his wrist. Letting go and screaming in pain, the brother looked up at Lena. Her dress was turn and she was practically in her lingerie. Her smile was triumphant, though, and she picked up the crystal and in her leather boots began to walk away. Luigi grabbed Mario's collar and yanked him away. "I don't have the pendant!" Mario cried.

"Forget it!" Luigi claimed. Seeing Toad gesturing to them, they followed him. Lena helplessly looked around the room to see where they had gone, and when she realized they had disappeared screamed at the goomba captain to find them. Rushing past a startled hatcheck girl, Toad pulled out two bottles and quickly shoved them at the guys faces.

"There, you can jump real high now boys!" Toad claimed. Ignoring the girl's protests, the smashed through a door and entered a room packed with crates, barrels, metal trays and towels. Aside from the skylight fourteen feet above them, there was no way out. "Let's jump!" Toad stated and as if it was a miracle, jumped to one end of the wall and up to the other. So continued until he smashed through the skylight. "It's in the mushroom bottle!" he explained. Mario, confused, followed his stead and so did Luigi.


	16. Chapter 16

The street was a darkened refuge from the buzz of the city. In the looming skyline was Koopa Tower, the Mario Brothers were planning a heist, but given the failure of their last operation, who knew how this one would turn out. "They've got electronic surveillance and goombas on each floor, the girl is going to be at the top," Toad claimed.

They all looked at each other, it was a daunting prospect and the job would not be easy. "It's not going to be easy," Luigi said.

"Yeah," Mario concurred.

"Here - listen - take this," Toad said and he placed a tiny miniscule object in Mario's hand. It was black, had a winder, eyes and legs. "It's cute but it's one bad bitch."

"I don't have kids," Mario flatly said.

"It's not for kids!" Toad said, his eyes flaring. "This can blow a city block apart! I have one of few Koopa didn't destroy. There's a sulphate reaction inside! Huge MOAB!"

"Thanks," Mario said and they kicked open a manhole cover, prepared to traverse through the sewers. Descending down a metal ladder, the hum of electronics was music to Mario's ears.

"Mario, I got another surprise for you!" Toad claimed. "I know a couple people in Metro Central, subversives like me! Here you go!" Hitting a panel on the wall, Mario's toolbelt fell out. Mario's eyes began to glow, he grabbed the toolbelt.

"You don't know what that meant to him," Luigi remarked. "It's like Batman finding his cape!"

"Nothing can stop us now!" Mario shouted.

* * *

Bowser was lying down in a Roman bath, the water up to his neck. A white robe lay on the marble steps that led to it. He was relaxing himself, trying to ignore himself from the failure of his sons and cousins. He was annoyed, this made it all better. Lena entered the room. Not dressed like she was at the discotheque, but rather she wore nothing at all, the lights highlighting her magnificent features. "I told my guards I did not wish to be disturbed." Koopa said without opening his eyes.

"I ignored them," Lena explained.

"They'll pay for that."

"I think not."

He opened his eyes. She held up her hand. His eyes narrowed. Something was glinting in her hand. She opened it and swung it back and forth before tying it around her neck. Bowser was entranced, Lena came up to him and planted a kiss on him. Their eyes lock, lips locked, then part and Lena licked her husband seductively.

* * *

Making his way to the Koopa Tower boiler room, Mario holstered a pry bar. It had not taken them long to get to the boiler room, due to the lack of water, guards were not stationed there any more. Those that were snuck off duty, so the whole path was clear. Mario compared the engine room to that of the Titanic, it was huge. There were pipes and valves everywhere, brick boulders, brass gauges and copper controls. The pistons thrusted, the steam hissed and furnace blasted. By Luigi's judgment, the room controlled the building's water, heat and ventilation. It seemed that the fungus was finally beginning to encroach on the tower, given that it covered the entire boiler room but was only covering the pipes. It seemed Koopa had a supply of water that was becoming more and more rare to the denizens of the city. "Look at the state of these pipes!" remarked Luigi.

"It's non-union work," Mario claimed. Moving to a control panel, they viewed a computerized rendition of the tower's schematics. Visible to them were waterways, stairwells, floor plans, elevator shafts, the heating complex and ventilation system. Stabbing a finger at the screen, Mario easily identified the main vent pipe. "There, that'll take me straight to the top and to Koopa." Opening the pipe, he saw what seemed to be an endless system with a metal ladder leading up. Opening it, however, he tripped the alarm. "You've got to slow them down," Mario told Luigi. A siren started to sound and lights began to flash above the doors that led into the main tower. Luigi raced across the room, ducking under pipes and swerving past valves, making his way to the main circuitry board. Luigi whistled as he scoped a whole lot of different coloured wires, but if civil engineering taught him anything, it was wires. Pulling the wires out in a flash of blue sparks, Luigi easily shut the alarm and the lights dimmed, running on reserve power. Now only the lights flashed red, with no identifiable place of emergency.

The brothers continued their sabotage and Toad needed to duck when a timely explosion set off. Cracks appeared in the pipework, instrument panels went crazy, circuits fused and gauges oscillated wildly as the entire power system for the building began to malfunction. "Someone is going to make triple overtime fixing this job," Luigi laughed. The brothers hugged in their moment of triumph, it was a small victory, though. Man-shaking with Toad, Mario said, "You take care man, I can't get you into any more trouble than this."

"All right, fine by me," Toad said. "Just remember, take out Bowser no matter the cost." With that, the half-human was gone. Also, the brothers began their long climb into the shaft.


	17. Chapter 17

Ludwig materialized from the shadows. He quietly watched Daisy in the shadows in vain. She loved the human, he knew it and it angered him. She was talking to Yoshi, yammering something about how she wished he could talk. Ludwig stepped forward, acting as if the yoshi did not exist and addressed Daisy. "For sixty five million years Daisy our kind has been exiled," he started. It was a grandiose speech he had concocted, to try and get Daisy to his side. "Now it is time for us to retain our rightful place on this planet. My stepmother has got the crystal, _your_ crystal. With it, my father can reunite the dimensions!" He got Daisy's attention with that, she was curious. "Reptiles were the most successful species while these mammals were still squirming underground. You and I Daisy, we are the legacy of the world!" No, he realized, power did not appeal to her, sympathy did. "I thought about what you said to me on Dinohattan. I went down there to check it out and it is far different than what my father says. Yes, my city is dying. The fungus is salting the ground, choking the air and killing the water. Our resources for all of them are nearly consumed... but here, at the center of it all, is a gateway to another world, the world you came from!"

It was almost as if Daisy knew what he was planning. "That is my world," she adamantly stated. A tick of frustration showed up in Ludwig's normally calm demeanor.

"You belong here," he claimed, in vain. "Deep inside you've known you were different! Not even that Luigi could convince you otherwise! This is our home! You've known that you were a stranger and I feel sorry that I couldn't be there to help you. I'm not like my brother or father, Daisy, believe me." Daisy wanted to believe otherwise, be even she could not deny Ludwig's voice was hypnotic. They stared into each others eyes, as if they truly did understand each other. "Haven't you ever been fascinated by the past, your true present. By the little things that were larger than everyone but all of you? You and I?" Ludwig reached out and stroked her hair, it seemed to anger Yoshi, but she seemed not to mind. They were interrupted before they could go any further by Roy.

"What do you want?" Ludwig asked his younger brother coldly.

"There are saboteurs in the building," he pointed out, frightened of his brother's startlingly angry reaction. "Father told me to get you on top of it." Ludwig gave Daisy a quick glance and she was thinking, she knew and he knew: Luigi and Mario were in the tower. Regaining his composure, he nodded towards his brother, stepped forward and walked into the elevator. "What do you want with her?" Roy asked. "Father and Lena are going to want her dead after they merge the worlds, she's the only one who can change them back!"

"Grandfather killed his father, I suppose I should restart that cycle because the new world will be mine," Ludwig implied to his younger brother. "I don't have any qualms about eliminating any of your or that meddlesome eighth who will surely come soon."

* * *

Among the cylindrical shaft, the brothers climbed. It was tiring, but they were managing just fine. It was at least eighty floors and the drop seemed to stretch to infinity. Mario quickly stopped for breath, the exertion of the tower was too much. At that moment, Luigi did too. Mario looked up and made a comment, "This filthy stuff is getting thicker. The fungus, I mean." It was true, the ladder above Mario was wrapped up in fungus, it was coiled all over the place and it all led up to a gigantic black tangled mass of mycelium.

"It's only fungus, it won't hurt you," Luigi assured.

"Yeah, well, you ain't getting it in the face," Mario shot back. Starting up again, Mario felt repulsed as it touched him the face and moved around. He'd seen that episode of Hannibal with the mushrooms, the very idea disgusted him. Grabbing on to another rung, Mario nearly fell back as it snapped, saving himself by grabbing the one above. "I wish we had that stuff Toad gave us," Mario sighed. "It's eaten through the metal, we can't go up any further!"

"Look!" Luigi pointed to a shaft, an open one, opposite them. Luigi backed down the ladder as Mario loosed a section of the ladder to reach across to the shaft. "Are you sure that's long enough?" Luigi asked. Mario merely shrugged. With a crack, the elder brother quickly found out he had gotten much more than he bargained for. The section of the ladder came off of the wall and Mario's weight propelled him into the tiny empty void. With inches to spare, the end settled just atop the lip of the shaft. Mario's feet were left hanging beneath it, into empty black space. "Mario!" Luigi screamed.

"Get yourself across! I don't know how long this thing'll hold!" Mario ordered. Luigi quickly scrambled up the ladder and cautiously made his way across the precarious and impromptu bridge. Edging forward on hands and knees, his weight caused it to buckle forward. As the far end inched terrifyingly close the tip, Luigi agonizingly made his way closer and closer, stopping when he saw Mario's pale shaking knuckles. "Quickly, one of us has to make it to that girl!" Mario ordered again. Luigi carried on and upon reaching the comparative safety of the tunnel, quickly turned to help his brother. Mario himself began to edge forward, hand by hand but even though he himself reached the lip, the ladder prevented him from swinging over. "Take my hands and then kick the ladder away!" Mario kept on his orders.

"What if I can't brace myself?" Luigi asked.

"My arms are falling out right now and I'm running on adrenaline so you got to," Mario pleaded. He released one hand without consent and without asking Luigi grabbed it. Pressing his feet against the side of the tunnel, Luigi gave himself some slight purchase. Taking a deep breath, Mario let go of the ladder and Luigi kicked it away, with only his strength preventing his brother's fall. His biceps bulged and veins stressed but with a magnificent effort, Luigi pulled a Batman Begins and pulled Mario right over. With the tunnel's cramped space, they could only crawl. As the tunnel spiraled, Mario noted the ice forming on the sides of the shaft. He realized they had greatly affected the heating system.

Luigi's focus was elsewhere, he was looking through an inspection plate and while the grid obscured most of his view he could make out some details, including what appeared to be the body of a woman. "I think I've found her!" he alerted Mario. His brother only covered his mouth, he pointed out the goomba in the scene. The room was not Daisy's. It was lit only by moonlight from the outside window. The goomba reacted as something metallic hit the flloor, it was a screw. Picking it up and looking up to the vent, Luigi came jumping down on the enemy, felling it. Mario followed suit shortly after and looked around for Daisy. It wasn't her, in fact, it was a plethora of women with a slightly similar resemblance.

"Mario!" came a cry from the crowd. "You came!" A woman came running out, it was Pauline. "Look girls, I told you Mario and his brother Luigi would come for us."

"Where's Daisy?" Luigi asked the goomba.

"Srry," it moaned in anguish. "Yrr princess is innn'nother castle." It laughed disgustingly and was kicked unconscious by the younger brother.

"These are the missing girls from Brooklyn I'd gather," Luigi commented.

"Well Lui, Angelica's from Queens," corrected Pauline. The brothers exchanged glances, it was much more than they had expected. "So boys, how're you getting us out of here?"

"We need Daisy first," Luigi stated.

"Little miss princess has got her own penthouse, doesn't bunk with us cause that Ludwig freak likes her," a girl pointed out. Luigi thought about the name Ludwig, identifying it as the man who identified Daisy he was suddenly full of anger. Mario looked at Luigi, obvious his brother would not stop, picked up the goomba's weapon and prepared to dart out to save the girl. Telling the girls to stay put, Mario and Luigi made their way out into the corridors to make their way further up. Hearing a screaming, Luigi quickly identified it as Daisy and went running. As the screaming got louder, they made it to a closed door. Mario pulled out his pry boor and yanked it open. The brothers entered to see Daisy, somehow escaped, trapped in fungus, with the mycelium coiled all around her.

"Luigi help me!" she cried. "It's Ludiwg's step mother, she went berserk and tried to kill me!" The explanation was subtle enough for the brothers.

"Wait, Mario!" Luigi got his brother to holster the weapon. "What if the king is this fungus? Like Toad and I think the steward said it was? What if we can get this... thing to help us?"

"Are you crazy?" Mario asked.

"Just let me try," Luigi calmed his brother, took out a pocket knife and cut the tip of his index finger and let his blood bleed onto the fungus. It coiled and loosened it's grip. "I hear fungus can communicate through -."

"I saw that episode of Hannibal," Mario stopped him. Gently picking up some of the coils, Luigi miraculously began to get it to loosen it's grip on Daisy. Mario was staggered but Luigi was not surprised. Stepping into the parting tangled mass, he picked Daisy up as if she were a newborn child and carried her out of there, as the mushrooms began to coil once more. A convert, Mario addressed the mushrooms. "I don't who you are... but thanks."

Setting Daisy down, she hugged Luigi full of love. "Look... Daisy... we found the other girls, lets get out of here."

"No!" Daisy cried. "The King Koopa, the Bowser, he's got my crystal. You have to stop him! No, WE have to stop him! He wants to merge Dinohattan to overwrite Manhattan, millions of lives will be lost. It's how I got here, just that tech on a more grand scale!"

"In that case I suppose we have to stop him," suggested Mario.

"Yeah no shit!" Luigi agreed.


	18. Chapter 18

The corridor was teeming with armed Goombas, Mario quickly closed it. No way they were going that way. Part of the fungus started to move on an area where it was embedded to the wall, the cracks widened, plaster fell to the floor. The fungus writhed and strained, then the section of the wall collapsed and provided them with another way out of there. Relieved, they scrambled through, Mario hesitated for a second and regarded his actions. He was doing the right thing. He was atoning for Peach. He had to be. Very quickly though, they reached a fork in the road, another moment of decision for them.

"Left, I guess," suggested Mario.

"No, right," suggested Luigi.

"What makes you so sure?"

"I've got a gut feeling."

"You had a gut feeling about Vancouver over Boston!"

"Mario, just trust me!"

About to overrule Luigi, Mario very quickly realized that his brother was trying to impress Daisy. He had acted the same way once, for Peach - then he grew up. "Okay, lead on," ceded Mario. "I'm right behind you." Luigi enjoyed the moment, grabbed Daisy's arm and began to steer her forward. Just as Mario was about to move with them a barred gate descended down and separated them. With the speed of a guillotine, it missed Mario by inches and he stepped back, finding himself face to face with Luigi. Light illuminated Luigi's side of the gate as Chuck walked in, Spike and Latiku by his side, and a host of Goombas behind him.

"Mario, get out of here!" yelled Luigi.

He did not want to, but he quickly realized that with Daisy there no harm would come to them. He had to get out of there and he winked before running. There was only one way to go, back to Pauline. Just as he entered, he was swarmed by a barrage of questions. The girls were all talking at once, wanting to know what was happening or complaining about the cold and some such. "Girls, hold it down. Okay? King Koopa's got my brother, I've got to find him." Mario's eye darted to the one girl who was not swarming, asking questions... she was holding a candle and praying.

"Too late," whispered Pauline as the whirr of a helicopter came nearby.

"I know why you've come, Plumber," said a voice from above. It was from a microphone, probably from the helicopter. It was King Koopa, Mario knew it. "I see every sin that blackens your soul. Eddie Scapelli. Donkey Kong. The enforcing and the hustling. And, of course, Peach. And now, to repay a debt, you've come for my Lamb. Not all debts can be repaid, Mario." How did Koopa know these things? Yet hearing them out loud just made his blood boil. Pauline saw and she had known to never talk to Mario about them, especially Peach.

"You don't know me pal!" yelled Mario at the giant glass window in front of them.

"Ruling is my business, Mario, as blood is yours," responded King Koopa. "Do you know why the Koopa Troopa will die for me? Because I have seen the future in their glory and hence they are content. What brought you to Dinohattan, Mario. Do you think you can bring back the girl and wipe away the debt? This will end in blood, but then again, it always does with you, doesn't it? It always ends in blood."

"Jaysus," muttered Pauline.

"You've come to lead the Lamb astray," roared King Koopa. "But your crook is bent and your path is twisted! Go back to the Sodom from which you came! Go back!" There was a loud boom nearby, Mario looked around and hardly noticed Koopa's helicopter come to level with the window. There stood Bowser, mic in hand and looking Mario in the eye. "Kamek forgives everything, but I'm just a shadow... so I don't have to. Amen."

"Amen," said the praying woman. Mario turned around and saw that she had drenched herself in oil. Dropping the candle, she lit herself on fire and somehow the entire room was covered in it. Seeing King Koopa smirk, Mario swore as the dictator flew away.

"We've got to get out of here!" yelled Mario and he led the women out of the burning room. Quickly leading the screaming women down the stairs, Mario realized that they needed to make it down faster. Quickly grabbing a mattress, he slid it down the ventilation shaft and began to sled down with the women. Soon they were out on the streets and back above Dinohattan, the mattress on the mesh grid. Under their weight, the mesh grid gave way. Looking around, Mario saw Toad drive around the bend in the garbage truck... and then reverse when he noticed Mario.


	19. Chapter 19

Slamming the dump truck into gear, Toad began to drive back towards the tower. Suddenly, images from Manhattan absurdly began to superimpose themselves over the scene. Mario blinked in astonishment as he saw yellow taxicabs suddenly on Dinohattan and then disappear. "What the hell?" Toad whispered. Then again, a pretzel stand in the middle of the road, a bag lady pushing an overloaded shopping cart and then neon signs from Broadway. Then they all disappeared. Then in front of the dump truck, a New York cop showed up, snarling. Everyone was thinking they were hallucinating, well, everyone except Mario.

"What was that?" Pauline asked.

"It's started!" Mario remarked. "Toad, do you know this place by the metro that leads to an underground tunnel full of gigantic pipes?"

"Yeah I think I know the place," Dane answered.

"We've got to get there, it's the only place this could be happening from!" Mario responded. Slamming it into gear, they moved on, and for a split second, hit straight into a Broadway Theater. Back to Dinohattan, then to forty-second street, Mario looked out and saw the hustle and bustle of pimps and their girls. Due to the strangeness of the dimensionality, the truck parked outside the subway station faster than it should have. Everyone piled out and began to follow Mario on to the steps, then New Yorkers began to materialize. A transit cop, brothers with boom boxes, more pimps and hoes all popped up on the station and then vanished. With a shudder and a kaleidoscope effect, it all began to change but stop. Reaching through the maintenance door that he and Luigi used to enter the strange world, momentarily, they were free of the craziness.

Then, outside. It began to happen on a much larger degree, as if somebody with DNA encoded to the crystal was manipulating it. Kids with airstompers popped up in Harlem, grabbing a basketball in mid air. Dinohattan cops popped up in a Manhattan precinct. It was all going crazy. They did not know that through it all, Bowser's wife, Lena, was running for him. She had witnessed this power and she knew their child would grasp it... but not all survive. Roy tried to grab his stepmother as she entered the room and much to the shock of everyone, she merged with something and was no more. Mario heard the screams of terror and tried to make his way there... but only found the custodian, who cried out in terror. "Where is Bowser?" Mario asked in a roar, the custodian pointed down the stairs. Everyone followed the plumber.

Mario, Toad and Pauline chose to enter the chamber, with the other girls opting to stay behind. "Stand back, I'm ending this," Mario told Pauline. There he entered to find the same room that he and Luigi had first arrived in. On one side were all seven Koopalings, on the other were goombas and Spike. In the middle on the floor in chains was Luigi. By the wall that Mario and Luigi arrived from, Koopa was standing with Daisy facing him.

"Mario, no!" Daisy cried. "This is between me and him." The second sentence was naught but a whisper.

"You are walking into a trap!" Luigi cried.

"I need to do this!" Daisy was adamant, as if watching the skewering of Lena had done something to change her mind. "Tell me," she turned to Bowser. "What am I?"

"The Princess of the Koopahari," Bowser answered. "Look at you, you're a mess." He grabbed her hand.

"Hey!" Luigi cried. "Let go of her!"

"Daisy," Bowser said calmly. "Everything I've done I've done to keep our people safe. We're all dinosaurs. I've done to keep us safe."

"Safe from what?" Daisy asked.

"Mammals," Bowser revealed. "It... 'The return of the king will sit down the throne and drown in flames the glory of the new world'." This was the first time they were all face to face. All of the variables were here. Daisy was finally face to face with her captor. Mario with his brother... and all of them with destiny. "But Kamek revealed to me something else: 'Beware Bowser. Beware the plumber, Mario Segale, for he shall be a wall between her and destiny.' Heh."

"Why?" Daisy asked, still looking at King Koopa. The malevolent leader himself had turned his attention to Mario, however, not looking at Daisy, at Luigi, his children or cousin or anybody but the plumber.

"Mario I'm a fool," Koopa admitted. "I've sent mighty armies to stop you! I've rained fire on you from above! I did all of that to keep you from her when all I needed to do was tell her the truth." He pointed to a large scar behind Daisy's ear, one that ran down to her shoulder. None of them had ever seen it before, she kept it hidden behind her neck. "My son Ludwig doesn't want it to come to anything but... ask him child, Daisy, ask the plumber. Ask the plumber what happened to your neck! Ask Mario!" He grabbed Daisy's hand, suddenly enraging Mario, who sheathed his weapon at that moment.

"Let go of me!" Daisy struggled to keep out of the man's grip. Mario began to inch forward, undeterred and refusing to look at the enemies around him.

"Ask him!" Koopa shouted again and Mario began to walk forward. "Ask the plumber!" As he finished that sentence Mario grabbed Koopa by the shoulder and turned him around, putting two hands to the king's neck much to the shock of everyone... but no one dared speak, scared to interrupt the almost ceremonious moment.

"She's your world's responsibility and you abandoned her, you son of a bitch!" Mario cried. "And you abandoned her! Was it worth it?" Mario smashed Koopa's head on the rock behind them. "Was it worth it?" He smashed it again. "Tell me!" Again. "Did you get what you wanted?" Again. "Huh?" Again. "Tell me!" Again. "TELL ME!"

Mario pulled Koopa forward, to let the man talk. "It... is... finished," Koopa commented and in a fit of rage Mario shoved his head into the rock.

Miraculously, just as the plumber had expected, it would sent the dinosaur's head forth into the flooded tunnel of water in their realm. "Nothing is finished!" Mario declared. "You lock her up when you bring her here!" Koopa started struggling, trying to pull out, but the minute was short and Mario's adrenaline high.

"MARIO!" Daisy screamed.

"You slice her neck!" Mario yelled.

"MARIO!" Daisy screamed again.

"And you put it on me?" Mario questioningly yelled.

"MARIO STOP IT!" Daisy cried in vain. Mario did not stop, not then, for about five more seconds he went until Koopa stopped struggling. With that, King Koopa's head slumped out and his body fell to the cold hard rock lifeless as the Mario turned to see Daisy backed away with her hand to her mouth. The Koopalings were horrified, but scared at the same time. Spike held the goombas back because he too, was scared of what was to come. Luig was down on the floor, crying at seeing what kind of a monster his brother was.

"You killed him," Daisy whispered with her hands to her mouth, looking at Bowser's body. Then she stared Mario in the eye. "What did he mean? Huh? You tell me what he meant about my neck?"

"I don't know," answered Mario. "I... I've never seen that before in my life. I don't know." Pauline wanted to go forward to Mario, but she stopped at Luigi and with a hairpin lock undid his bonds and pulled him back. She was the only person who had seen Mario like this before, she did not want to see him like this again. Mario staggered forth a bit, his head swirled as a spell came over him. He dropped to his knees. "What...? Daisy I swear to you I have no idea what he was talking about."

"You do," Daisy claimed. "You just won't remember."

"No, I don't!" Mario claimed, looking her straight in the eyes. "I can prove it. Let's destroy this siphon between worlds, let's fix Dinohattan. The answer is with the king, your father, you just have to fix him."

"Destroy the siphon?" questioned Daisy. "How am I going to fix my father?"

"I don't know, but I'll think of something," Mario promised. He finally turned to see the entrance, Luigi, Toad and Pauline. The Koopalings and the goombas allowed them to pass, as if giving them a rite of passage.


	20. Chapter 20

Just as they were about to leave, Daisy ran back and snatched the crystal from Koopa's neck. However, at that instant the whole room began to vibrate and cracks started to appear from the floor. An anguished cry came from the dead man on the ground and Mario turned around to face him. Bowser stood up, but he began to look different. His limbs began to bulge and his hair flared red, turning a dark scarlet colour. The robes he was wearing expanded and out of his bask ivory spikes erupted. He grew in stature and in a hideous transformation his skin turned yellow and scaly as horns came above his eyes and a tail from his back. His fingernails pointed and he stood massive, the pinnacle of evolution: a dinosaur in body, but still fully conscious in mind. His venomous hate filled eyes fixed upon Mario and out of his tunic he pulled out a silver barreled weapon. Holding Daisy's hand, Mario snapped the cord off of the crystal but otherwise left it in her hands.

"Hey lizard-breath," Mario shouted at Koopa. Prepping his flame thrower he fired it at the dinosaur as the others ran back, following Toad. Much to Mario's shock, Koopa was all right. The lizard gave what appeared to be a disgusting smile and breathed fire right back. It did not reach Mario, but the point was clear. Only one of them was going to survive this. Holding out his closed hand, Mario dangled the cord. "Looking for this?" he teased and Mario ran up the walkway, hoping that in his new form Bowser could not follow him. Looking back once he made it to the top, however, Bowser was smashing his way through the walkway.

Mario ran through, avoiding his brother and everything else, running to keep the attention off of them. Whatever King Koopa had become, it was dangerous. Making his way up to the walkway he looked where he had exited from and sure enough, Bowser burst through in fury and quickly spotted Mario on one end of the walkway. Clutching his toolbelt, Mario began to pray. The people were panicking, frightened at the prospect of what exactly was going on. Bowser simply pushed innocents out of the way and stomped his foot on the ground, stopped by the giant hole below the subways. In one swift motion, the dinosaur jumped up to the walkway, and as if it was a cowboy movie at high noon, on one side was Mario and on the other side King Koopa. "Give me that rock," Bowser growled. His voice was much more guttural now, strange and honestly, quite alien. "I am your genetic destiny, Mario." Mario was scared, but he had every right to be brave as well. Holding the cord over the railing, threatening to drop it into the void, Mario taunted his arch enemy. He took a look at the door to the gateway, the Koopalings and goombas were coming out now.

Koopa was fuming and began to walk towards Mario, brandishing that weapon. He turned to the crowd assembled below the walkway and shot it at a random man, who within seconds became a goomba. "Let's see what you become," Koopa growled. He continued to walk forward and Mario pulled the Bob-Omb out of pocket and held it for the crowd and Bowser to see.

"STOP!" roared Bowser. "Put that down!" Among the crowd, everybody was whispering 'Bob-Omb'. It was a weapon of great caliber and even in his advanced state, Koopa feared it. Mario refused to listen and kneeling down, he winded it up and set it loose, thinking about what Toad told him about the Bob-Omb always reaching it's mark. With sheer trust and belief, Mario let it walk on the walkway. "Big mistake," Bowser taunted and smashed his foot on the walkway and caused a hole in the grating. Then, as it neared King Koopa it fell through to the streets below. Mario took another quick look at the door to the gateway, Luigi, Toad and Daisy were returning there to lead the other girls through. Daisy must have somehow learned to master the crystal to deny the girls a watery death. As Koopa was inches away from Mario, the world began to vibrate again. "It's happening, isn't it?" Bowser contemplated. "She's emptying that flooded tunnel and getting the girls through? You don't have the crystal at all do you? Our species is so alike that even parallels are the same in times of treachery!"

As Mario and Bowser faced off, the Bob-Omb waded through the streets below. A driver spotted it walking for a way up the walkway and stopped before he could hit it. He knew from school textbooks of it's legendary power. Suddenly Mario and Bowser began to fade out of existence. Then they materialized in Broadway, in the middle, with them both looking around as the people looked at them. Perhaps they were some new entertainment theater promoters? "Let's see what I turn you into, plumber," Bowser remarked and fired his devo gun. Mario ducked and a cop behind him was hit. Mario turned around to see what happened. The poor man's forehead began to bulge out and he was covered with far more hair and was regressed on all fours, a true homo habilis. Koopa laughed greatly. "But you'll be different," Koopa claimed, aiming at Mario. The plumber was angry again, but against Koopa in this form, what could he do? Then as he fired, they both disappeared with the shot hitting the cop again, regressing him further into primordial ooze. The two enemies warped right back to the middle of Koopa Square.

They were further apart this time, though. Mario at one end of the square and Koopa at the other. There was surprisingly no traffic, all the cars were parked far away. Koopa wondered why, Mario looked to his enemy's feet and below the tail stood the Bob-Omb. In a thunderous explosion, Koopa was lightly catapulted into the air and fell mercilessly into the giant crater in the ground. His devo gun lay by Mario's feet, escaping the carnage. Mario walked over to the fallen king, defeated by luck of the draw as the Bob-Omb had made it's mark. Koopa's crater was full of blood and horns, the leader was still conscious. His green eyes staring at Mario with hate. The dinosaur struggled to get up, but began the effort anyways. Mario turned around to see Luigi and Daisy behind him, backing him up as he faced off against the dinosaur. In one swift motion, Mario fired the beam at Koopa who roared in defiance, refusing to be taken out. Suddenly, Koopa began to grow larger, his robes ripped off and his horns and spikes retracted. His hair was gone and his colour darkened. Several feet tall, Koopa grew into a true Tyrannosaurus Rex and gave one final magnificent roar before collapsing dead on the ground. Mario's head began to swirl and he fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

In the moments after the Battle of Dinohattan the Koopalings had fled the city with the egg of their unborn eighth brother. Bounties for their heads were placed by the police as with the fall of the tyranny of Koopa, they were now fugitives. Mario and Luigi had not gone back to Brooklyn yet. The younger brother cared for Daisy, the great love of his life. Mario, on the other hand, contemplated Koopa's words and remembered what had happened in his past. His father. His sister. The scar on Daisy's neck. It all made sense now... but how close he and Bowser truly were, that did not. In the days that followed, the fungus, which had sensed the death of Bowser began to recede. Waterways began to sprout back to life and quickly form the moat around the city and the waterways into the Koopahari Desert once again began to form. Pipes began to clear out and the city was brought from the brink of death to life. Once more, the brothers were happy they had saved millions but Mario could not shake the feeling that both of Koopa's deaths had caused his head to swirl.

About a week had passed and Toad had found a chest full of gold coins, he delivered it to the brothers. With time, Toad managed to free his uncle from prison. The old steward Toadsworth was savvy with technology and easily managed to figure out just how Koopa managed to reverse engineer King Murphy into a fungus. Transforming him back, the king was brought back, in a coma that would eventually wear off, but he was back. The money on the other hand was more than enough to clear Mario's debts. With everything said and done, Luigi found Daisy overlooking the city with an umbrella in one hand. "Daisy, let's go home," Luigi requested of her.

"I... I can't...," she answered, with the shock of that reality hitting her just as hard as it had hit Luigi.

"What do you mean?" Luigi asked. "You know how much we feel about each other."

"Look, kid," Mario interjected. "What she's trying to say is she cares about you just as you do her... but this is her home now. She's got to stay here with her father and people." It was enough understanding for the both of them. She gripped the crystal, having earned enough control over to it to send Mario and Luigi back to their apartment right when the kiss finished.

"Well Mario, what do we do now?" Luigi asked him as they looked across Brooklyn.

"Let's take a break."


	21. Chapter 21

**Three Years Later, 2017 - Dinohattan  
**

The teacups on the table swelled in the rain. The sheet on the stands by the piano began to dampen, it's ink rolling all around. With a bouquet of white orchids, Daisy sat out in the rain. To the sound of thunder, men rowed into the rivers. It had only been three years since everything. The Koopahari Desert was still present, but the rivers flowing in and out of it had allowed Dinohattan to recover, ever so slightly. Nonetheless, it was still the cesspool of corruption it once was. The rivers did lead to an ocean, though. An ocean none but Toadsworth and her father knew existed: there was more to the world as the old man always claimed. The Koopahari Flag blew off in the distance as the rain poured down, the marines came in and the door burst open. Luigi was in manacles, escorted by strange soldiers.

"Luigi!" she exclaimed and dropped the bouquet, running towards him. "How are you here? What's happening?"

"I don't know," he answered. "You look beautiful." The marines crossed their long axes to bar King Murphy from entering. From the other side of the room, a giant imposing man, at least seven foot two entered. Over his head was a purple crown. He was wearing a black business suit with an x over the lapel and slightly violet hued trousers. Daisy looked at his hands, purple gloves.

"King Murphy," the figure addressed her father. "It has been too long."

"Not long enough," answered the king. "You have no reason or authority to drag this man from his dimension and arrest him."

"In fact I do! Mr. Zene!" he stated and one of the marines holding Luigi came to him. "The warrant for the arrest of one Luigi Segale!" The king made his way forward and grabbed the paper.

"This warrant is for the arrest of my daughter!" he roared.

"Oh is it, now?" he asked. "That's annoying. My mistake. Arrest her!"

"On what charges?" asked Daisy.

The man brushed her off. "Oh, here it is! I have another for Toadsworth, is he present?" he asked.

"He left months ago," the king responded angrily. "Lord Crump, you better have a good reason for all this nonsense!"

"I don't believe that was the question I asked," Crump responded.

"Yo Crump, in the category of questions you ain't answered," Luigi intruded, leaving his statement open ended.

"We are under our own jurisdiction, you will tell us what you have charged us with!" Daisy demanded.

"Own jurisdiction?" Crump laughed. "Perhaps Murphy remembers who he swore fealty to. The charge is '_conspiring to set free a man convicted of crimes against the Crown and Empire as well as the murder and exile of the specialist strike force Koopa Troopa for which the punishment is regrettably death_', understand Murphy? Perhaps now these Mario Brothers will remember a certain man from the Toed Sthuul Kingdom named Toadsworth?"

"The steward!" Luigi exclaimed.

"Steward Toadsworth," sighed Daisy.

* * *

"The Prisoner, as requested, Lord Crump," said Mr. Kero Zene and he threw Luigi in to the room with the intimidating Lord Crump. Despite his gargantuan height, Crump looked decidedly civil.

"Those chains are not necessary, Mr. Zene," Crump indicated and in a few short seconds Luigi was free of his bonds. "The X-Naut Trading Company is in need of your services. We wish for you and your brother to act as our agents in a business transaction with our mutual friend Steward Toadsworth."

Luigi looked around and out of the window. The city was still a steaming pile of crap, but it had been rained on and was at least recovering. "More acquaintance than friend I'm afraid, how do you know him?" Luigi asked.

"We've had dealings in the past," Crump answered. "And we've both left our mark on each other."

"What mark did he leave on you?" Luigi asked. He was curious, of a lot of things. Primarily how exactly he was back in Dinohattan. After everything with King Koopa, he'd figured they were done with the place.

"By your efforts," Crump started, ignoring Luigi's question. "Bowser was killed and Toadsworth set free. I would like you and your brother to go after him and recover a certain property in his possession."

"Recover?"

"A bargain," reasoned Crump. "Letters of marque. You and your brothers will receive full pardons from Sir Grodus and Toadsworth will be free, a privateer in employ of the X-Nauts. The true rulers of the Koopahari."

"Y'know, Toadsworth isn't going to take employment in the hands of anyone but the Sthuul King as being free," Luigi said.

"Freedom? Toadsworth is a dying breed, with the return of access to Dinohattan the world is shrinking," Crump said back. "The blank pages of the map are finally being filled in. Toadsworth must find his place in the new world or disappear. Not unlike you Mr. Segale, you and your love face the end of the hangman's noose."

"So you get both Toadsworth and what, exactly?"

"The question in item is considerably small, and far too valuable," Crump revealed. "It is something that Toadsworth keeps in possession at all times. I'm surprised Bowser did not use it: a compass? Bring back that compass or there is no deal. Both you and your brother will rot here in our dimension."

"How did you guys bring me here? How will I get my brother?" Luigi asked.

"The sprites Mr. Segale, the sprites," answered Crump. He placed in Luigi's hand a yellow star like figure with rounded ends and two onyx stones placed into it as if it had eyes. "Just say please and you'll be back to your world. Also, say map and it'll open up all that my men have chartered. I'm sure you'll find a stop at which Toadsworth will be at. Anyhow, I think Daisy wants a word with you in her... cell."

Running down the stairs and to the cell block, Luigi hardly noticed King Murphy behind him. "Here now, you can't be here," a guard stopped him. It was not a palace guard, it was an X-Naut.

"I think you'll find that he can," King Murphy protested.

"Mr. Murphy?"

"King Murphy, if that name still holds some weight," huffed the old king. The guard left the three to themselves.

"Crump wants Toadsworth's compass," Luigi told Daisy.

"What does he want with that?" Daisy asked.

"Does it matter?" Luigi asked. "I'm going to go get Mario, we'll find the steward, get him back here and have the charges dropped."

"No, we cannot trust a man of Sir Grodus," the king proclaimed. "We must find our own avenue to your freedom, Daisy."

"Is that a lack of faith in me? In case I remember I helped turn you back into what you are," Luigi promptly said.

"That you would risk your life to save Toadsworth does not mean that he would do the same for you," the king said.

"I have faith in you," Daisy said bluntly. "Where will you find the steward?"

"I have a hunch," Luigi answered. "Keep a weather eye on the horizon. Please." With that he disappeared and turned around to see a car hit him square at 30 km/h in front of his house in Brooklyn.


	22. Chapter 22

"Luigi what the hell?" Mario asked, getting out of his car to check if his brother was okay. It had been three years since they had been to Dinohattan, three years of Bowser's words haunting Mario. Yet he thought he was free of that, free to live his life with Pauline. He and Luigi got along much better since that entire incident, with the two becoming brothers truly and enjoying their new plumbing corporation. Mario had brought the girl back and wiped away all of the debts and then some. They got a much larger and fancy apartment in Brooklyn, but not too large. They wanted to stay humble. Putting his brother in the backseat and going back to the apartment, Mario carried him back onto the couch and waited for him to wake up.

"Woah," Luigi groaned, getting up. "That was... something."

"What?" Mario asked. "First, mind explaining to me how you popped up from thin air in front of my car?"

"A shine sprite," Luigi said quickly. "Look, we've got to go back to the Koopahari."

"Okay, no, first tell me - what the hell is a shine sprite?" Mario asked, obviously frustrated with his brother's attitude. Luigi held out the golden star like object.

"It's this," Luigi answered. "It lets us teleport in between realms as long as we're in a city where Daisy's crystal could work. I don't know what happened to her crystal, why she can't use it to get out of her prison. Mario, let's go!"

"What the hell?" Mario asked. "First tell me what happened!"

"So I was working a job for Eddie," Luigi started. "I finished and these goons, wearing strange armour came and cuffed me. In a second I was here to Dinohattan going at the speed of light. Placed in chains I was brought to some Lord Crump, he just invaded Dinohattan and wants us to go find Toadsworth. If we find him and convince him to work for some Sir Grodus, then he spares the life of Daisy, her father and Toad."

"Wait, Toadsworth, the steward?" Mario asked. "Wasn't he planning on going sailing to some Rogueport or something, y'know, when he got his resources up?"

"Yes, exactly!" Luigi shouted, happy that he had a lead. "That's where we'll head!" Mario put his hands up.

"Let me at least tell Pauline where we'll be going, maybe I can get us some pistols and ammo from Eddie," Mario told him to wait and left. Perhaps now he would finally get some answers on what Bowser's cryptic words truly meant. Heading off to Pauline, she was surprisingly okay with the circumstances. She never wanted Mario to go back to Dinohattan, but under such circumstances, she did not want Daisy dead either. She gave him permission and got two pistols and ammo from her cousin's vault for them. With all said and done, Mario returned to Luigi and was surprised how within a second, as if it was Daisy's powers again, they were on an X-Naut ship sailing on a river away from Dinohattan.

* * *

Right when they arrived, the highly trained X-Nauts turned their weapons on Mario and Luigi. "Hold up," Luigi stopped. "We're working for Lord Crump, we need you guys to take us to Rogueport!" Who appeared to be the leading commander checked a little datapad looked them up and then nodded. In a second, all of the soldiers, more like drones, began to go back to their duties, avoiding the brothers entirely. "Well, we're back," Mario noted. "At least there's water now for the city and the sky is cleared up." They had gone back so fast, Mario had agreed almost instantly. It was almost as if he was hoping for three years that they could go back so he could figure out how exactly Bowser knew about Peach. Luigi was all ready to go, to rescue Daisy, Mario felt that he was even more ready, but just needed rationalization. Somehow, it felt good to be back.

"Yeah I didn't get a chance to check everything out because I was in bonds last time," Luigi responded. "Daisy's dad's out of her coma. I hope she can come back now."

"Keep your mind on the job, the sooner we find Toadsworth the sooner we go back," Mario quickly said.

"Oh please!" Luigi remarked. "The only reason you agreed to come here so quickly is because you wanted to come as well!"

"Keep dreaming, I'd rather stay out of this glum place," Mario lied, convincingly as well. "The only reason I came is because I saved Daisy last time, I'm not letting her die of murder and my work go to vain."

"Whatever," said Luigi.

* * *

Arriving at Rogueport later that day, they found many patrons wearing a strange white mask and hoods. Luigi approached one of them and asked. "Have you seen an old guy, mid-fifties, named Toadsworth?"

"Toadsworth?" scoffed the shy guy. "Owes me four doubloons." Mario on the other hand went to ask some ladies, Luigi turned and saw, they were probably hookers.

"Seen a guy named Toadsworth?" Mario asked them.

"Toadsworth? Haven't seen him in a month," answered the ho. "When you see him, give him a message." She slapped Mario there, undoubtedly there was some bad blood between the two. Luigi kept laughing until Mario came and told him to shut up. They then found a shrimper out by the beach.

"Have you seen an old man by the name of Toadsworth?" Mario asked him.

"Can't say about Toadsworth," the shrimper answered. "But there's an island just south of where I trade spices with Koopa Troopa runaways. You'll find a ship there, a ship painted angel white with Sthuul red flags. Perhaps it is there you will find some clues?" The man agreed to take them with him on his shrimping boat and when the island came into sight, so did the boat, which was painted like Dane Toad's cap was. "My brother can take you." The two got into a rowboat and were sailed across, but the man refused to come all the way to shore so for a short bit they had to wade through.

Walking ashore, Luigi started calling out names: "Toadsworth! Dane!" but Mario hushed him. They walked past the ship and looked at the beach and fell as soon as two tranquilizer darts hit them right above the knees.


	23. Chapter 23

These native savages began to carry Mario and Luigi and took them up the mountain to their camp, holding their hands behind their back, there was nothing the two brothers could do. Once they made it to the very top, they presented them to their king, who turned out to be none other than Dane Toad. The savages addressed the red bandana man in a strange language and got a strange response. "Dane," Mario gruffed. "I can honestly say I am glad to see you." Dane simply looked at them and turned away, mentioning paprika to a native. "Toad! It's a... me, Mario!" Mario tried to convince his old friend, however, Dane kept on speaking in the strange language to the other savages. "Can you tell them to let me go, if you can even talk to them at all?"

"Aaah...," Toad pointed at Luigi. "Plumberly."

"Dane, all I need is your uncle's compass!" Mario explained. "We need it to save Daisy! Luigi was arrested for taking down Bowser and soon you will be too! Daisy faces hanging by a metal rope!" Toad said a whole bunch of crap and then came by Mario.

Whispering into the plumber's ear, Toad simply said: "Save me."

At that moment the savages began to carry Luigi and Mario away. "What did you tell them?" Mario asked. "Toad! No! What about Daisy!"

* * *

Her father at at that moment arranged an attempt to try and get her to escape. It had failed as Daisy expected. For some reason her crystal wasn't working and she could not teleport wherever she wanted. It was annoying, but for a split second it had managed to work. When Kero Zene intercepted the wagon that her father had stationed to go to a boat scheduled for Rogueport, Daisy had somehow been able to teleport to Lord Crump's office. As the insidious giant walked into the room, the first thing he noticed was that the letters of marque he had promised Luigi were missing. "No doubt," his deep Sean Connery like voice insisted, "that you have discovered that loyalty is no longer the currency in this realm, as your twenty years a fungus father believes."

"Then what is?" Daisy questioned.

"Sir Grodus has changed," answered Lord Crump. "For the first time in a long time, currency is the currency of the realm."

"Then I expect we can come to some understanding," Daisy prompted. "I'm here to negotiate."

"I'm listening," Lord Crump answered. She drew a pistol to the back of his head. "I'm listening quite intently."

"These letters of marque, they are signed by Sir Grodus to whom you claim my father swore fealty," Daisy made sure of.

"They are not valid until they bear my signature and seal," Crump revealed.

"Or else I would not be here," Daisy finished for him. "You sent Luigi to get Toadsworth's compass. How did you bring Luigi here?"

"Your crystal is not the only object that can transform dimensions," Crump knew. "Most powerful, perhaps. King Koopa knew this and using a shine sprite he was brought here. With several shine sprites one can negate the effects of your crystal. For a second, I decided to let you come over here. I suppose what you truly want to know is why I desire the compass? There is a chest of value in the waters beyond Rogueport. Perhaps you may wish to enhance whatever offer you might have had."

"Consider into your calculations that somewhere along the line you have robbed me of a life with Luigi," Daisy claimed. "For now, at least."

"So I did," Crump admitted. "If you want his freedom, then get the compass." With that, Daisy, tempted to shoot, simply left.

* * *

"Well I say it was saurian providence what escaped us from that Dinohattan jail!" claimed Lemmy, the elder but shorter of the two brothers traveling in their rowboats.

"And I say it was me being clever! Roy almost had us identified in Rogueport, I was good to suggest we separate from the crowd like Ludwig did!" Larry the younger but taller of the two brothers counterclaimed.

"How do you know saurian providence did not inspire you?" tested Lemmy. The two had set sail off of Rogueport after their other siblings and baby brother, Bowser Jr., had almost been identified by X-Naut police. Quickly escaping, the two brothers made their own way. With a treasure map and hearing of a crashed ship, they knew the safest independent place would be the Sthuul Kingdom. Not long after they had arrived on the shore of the island took a good look at the ship.

"It's ours for the taking!" Larry declared.

"The tide is coming in, that should help," Lemmy judged. "And also, salvaging is a kind of saving, in the manner of things for this fine ship."

"There's the truth of it!" Larry agreed.

"I suppose we better save it as soon as we can," Lemmy muttered and the two got to work on the ship.

* * *

Mario and Luigi were placed in a bone cage hanging atop a ravine. Inside their cage was Toadsworth and several others, Blue and Yellow (whose names were actually the colours of their caps, Chanterelle, Bert and Doe. "So if Dane's their chief, why are we locked up?" Mario asked Bert, the Toad he was squeezed up against.

"Aye, the savages made Dane their chief, but he only remains chief as long as he acts like one," Bert reasoned.

"So he has no choice," Mario reasoned. "He's captive as much as the rest of us."

"Worse as it turns out," Bert continued. "The savages think that Dane is a god in person form and intend to sacrifice him so that he can up and join the rest of their twisted pantheon." Luigi looked around and saw the bones and sinew holding their cages together.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" Luigi asked Chanterelle.

"This cage we're in weren't built until after we got here," she answered.

"Well then we can't just do nothing," Luigi claimed. He prompted the crew to start pushing the cage back and forth across the ravine, gradually gaining momentum, each time they got closer and closer to the walls and the mossy vines that hung around it. Eventually, they made it and everyone who could grabbed a vine. "Put your legs through!" Luigi ordered. "Start to climb! C'mon men! Hurry!" Making it up to the first bridge, Luigi spotted a savage patrolling it. Knowing they would need to make it further up, he quickly halted them and all went hush. When he went past, they continued their ascent and made it to the top. "Find a rock, cut it loose!" Luigi ordered. Mario noticed that this time around, Luigi was taking much more initiative in their quest.

"No, move it!" Toadsworth's voice hammered. "Lift it like a lady's skirt!" As they began to move, Dane suddenly, hopping on an enlarged cooking stick, came in front of them, crying for them to stop. Cutting each other loose, they all quickly ran back down to the ship, which they were surprised to find was almost all ready to go. "Excellent," Toadsworth remarked. "Our works already half done!"

"We done it for you!" Lemmy claimed. "We knew you'd be back!"

"Time to go!" Luigi yelled as all eleven of them got aboard the ship.


	24. Chapter 24

"Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to the open sea," suggested Dane.

"Yes to the first and to the second but only so long as we keep as close to the shallows as possible," Toadsworth tippsily claimed. "Say, why did the Super Mario Bros come back?"

"That seems contradictory uncle," Dane placed his attention back on them. While he too was interested he was sure the brothers would come out with the info as soon as possible.

"I have every ounce of faith in God and Chanterelle's navigational skills!" Toadsworth claimed. Then Luigi came up behind the steward. Mario was busy associating himself within the new group of Toads and learning about the Sthuul Kingdom. It was an interesting venture and while Luigi himself would have loved to learn all about it, he was busy trying to take the initiative to find Daisy. That was the most important thing in his life at that moment. Sure, he might only get to spend a few days with her, but the fact was that he would get to spend even a minute with her if he succeeded.

"Toadsworth," he approached him.

"Ah?"

"Daisy is in danger," he revealed.

"Have you considered keeping a closer eye on her?" Toadsworth suggested. "Or locking her up somewhere?"

"Sorry I was in another dimension," Luigi apologized. "And she IS locked up, in a prison for helping us kill Bowser!"

"There comes a time when one must claim responsibility for one's mistakes," Toadsworth dryly declined to help. Luigi pulled out his gun and aimed it at the steward's head, much to the shock of the entire crew. Nonetheless, they saw the savvy look on the steward's face and just pressed on with their duties. Nobody really cared, after all, they knew Luigi would not really kill the old Toad.

"I need your compass, steward," Luigi gritted through his teeth. "I need it for her freedom."

"Dane?" Toadsworth asked, calmly pushing the gun away and walking over to his nephew.

"Yes, uncle?" responded Dane. He too was unbothered by the fact that Luigi had pulled a gun to his uncle's head. He was bothered by whatever danger Daisy could be in and the fact that his uncle had been acting so fidgety recently. It was as if the man felt as if there was a harpoon pressed against his back, prepped to launch straight through in a gory mess. Whatever danger Daisy was in, though, it had to be as bad as what was up with Bowser otherwise she would have been able to use her crystal to get out of there. He thought about it all for a second and began to look around, but only for a second, and reasoned that his best judgment would be to stick with his uncle, blood before bone.

"We need to travel upriver."

"No!" Luigi interjected. "We need to make it to Dinohattan, or at least Rogueport, as fast as this dinky ship can go!"

"Luigi I will trade you the compass if you get me this!" Toadsworth agreed, showing Luigi the picture of a key. Mario arrived then and took a good long look at the picture.

"You want me to find this?" Luigi asked.

"No, I want you to find this so that you can find the doo dad of the man to find the means to get to her!" Toadsworth explained.

"This is going to save Daisy?" Luigi assured himself.

"How much do you know about King K. Rool?" Toadsworth asked.

"Never heard of him," Luigi answered.

If Rool was like other men in this subdimension, Mario knew he could be bought. This adventure would probably not take a long time, Mario figured. After all, it seemed much less stressful than the last one they had, probably since they were in much familiar territory this time and actually knew where they were.

"Yeah it'll save her," Toadsworth made sure of it in a confident thumbs up. The steward walked away to his cabin, seemingly gleeful, but teetering mostly in the center of the ship, as if he wanted to stay away from the ocean. Luigi noted that, Mario was busy immersing himself within the Toads again. Going to Dane, Luigi prepared to ask a question.

"Why is your uncle afraid of the ocean, I mean, giant squids?" Luigi questioned.

"Better question is, how did you get back here?" laughed Toad, although he was serious.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you've got to tell me your uncle's situation," Luigi bargained. Dane simply nodded his head in agreement. "So, somebody named Lord Crump comes to New York and drags me here to repay the fealty King Murphy owed some Sir Grodus, and given that Bowser was paying it, for three years it just went by unchecked. Crump's somehow negating Daisy's control over the crystal, but he's given me something called a Star Sprite, it'll give me some powers, not enough to free her, however. We've got to get your uncle to agree to work under the X-Nauts, do you know who they are?"

"I've heard of their nation, Nautical, but I wasn't aware Sthuul dealt with them," Dane honestly answered. "I miss Dinohattan, though, y'know. That was my home, I lived there my entire life. I don't get why people like my uncle think I would feel comfortable serving under Princess Peach Toadstool, it's just not reasonable. I liked serving under Daisy and Murphy."

"Dude, don't go off topic," Luigi remarked.

"Okay, all right," Dane returned to the subject matter at hand. "Well, if you believe such things, there is a beast that does the bidding of King K. Rool. A fearsome creature with giant spikes with suction pads that'll clean your face off and maybe even drag a ship down the depths: the Puftoss. According to survivors the smell is the worst part, imagine death and a thousand corpses. If you'll believe such things, but... after how Koopa became an actual monster, I guess it's possible."

"Your uncle thinks the key will spare him that?" Luigi asked.

"And somehow get you back Daisy," confirmed Dane. "Look, I'm only going off what I've seen from Chanterelle's maps, y'know, sites where the Puftoss has been rumoured to have been seen. Anyways, my uncle wants this question confirmed, so... he's going to go visit... her."

"Her?" Luigi asked, not knowing at all what was happening.

"Yeah, her," he confirmed, not knowing Luigi had no clue.


	25. Chapter 25

Making their way to a swamp, Mario and Luigi still had no idea what Toadsworth was up to. They speculated the fumes from his prison cell had some sort of an adverse effect on his brain. The passageway the swamp led to took them to a small hut, but that was about it. "No worries guys, Candy and I go back a long time," Toadsworth assured them. Despite this, only Toadsworth, Toad, Mario and Luigi dared enter.

"Toadsworth," she greeted. Mario took a good look at her, she was a tall Caucasian woman with blonde hair. She appeared to have a bit of importance about her.

"Candy," Toadsworth calmly said back. He strided over to her, almost knocking his head on a pair of hanging jars. She, however, spotted Mario and just as the old steward reached her, she walked over to him.

"Mario," she said calmly. "You... you have a touch of multiversal destiny about you, Mario."

"You know me?" Mario asked, fixating on her words. Perhaps she could give him some answers about what Bowser said.

"You want to know me?" she asked. Mario did not know what to make of it. She seemed about forty, his age, but he had a sneaking suspicion that she was much, much older than that. Nonetheless, Toadsworth quickly ran over between them, looking concerned. For what, exactly, Mario could not determine, but he backed away.

"There will be no knowing here!" Toadsworth declared, grabbing Candy by the arm and leading to the other side of her shack. "We've come for help and shan't be leaving without it!" He looked at Mario with concern when he turned back. "Please don't know him."

"Well all right. Come," she beckoned. Toadsworth called Mario, but Mario only and called for Luigi and Toad to stay where they were. Mario treaded over carefully, taking a look at a bunch of trinkets. One caught his eye. It was a red tie, like the one he gave Donkey Kong Jr., but there were no words on it. It was just a red tie but he swore that he recognized it. Shaking it off, he went over to the two crazies and followed them to the second story in the hut. "What do you want?" she demanded to know. "You know I want payment!" Toadsworth looked uneasily at Mario for a second there.

"I brought payment!" he said after an awkward half minute. He reached into Mario's toolbelt and pulled out an ammo magazine. "Look, interdimensional heavy metals!" Candy grabbed the cartridges and analyzed them for a second, putting a finger over the grooves in the packaging. She then looked at Toadsworth quite seriously, making Mario feel uncomfortable... but she laughed and Mario believed that the payment was considered fair. He was relieved for a second there, he was worried that she would kill the two of them. "We're looking for this and what it leads to," Toadsworth brought out the folding of the key and let Candy analyze it.

"The compass I gave you, why can't you use it?" she wanted to know.

"Maybe it does!" Toadsworth stated.

"Let's go back down," she suddenly stated. While they did, joining the others, they saw that more from the crew, Larry and Lemmy, had come in the hut and joined up in conversation. "So Toadsworth does not know what he wants or how to get it? Or you do know but are loath to claim it as your own? Your key goes to a chest and you want what's in the chest, right?"

"And what is inside?" Dane asked.

"Jewels, gold and treasure?" Lemmy suggested.

"Nothing bad I hope," Larry glumly commented.

"Do you all know of King K. Rool?" asked Candy. "A great sailor, until he ran afoul of that which vexes all men!"

"Oh my dad used to mention him!" Lemmy put out, drawing glares from the crowd. "The vex was women and the gold!"

"NO!" Larry slapped his elder brother. "That was a metaphor, it was the dichotomy of good and evil!"

"It was a woman!" Candy put out there, annoyed by the Koopalings. "He fell in love."

"I heard it was the sea he fell in love with," Dane commented.

"Same story different variables," Candy brushed him aside. "See it was a woman as changing and untamable as the sea in THIS universe. But the pain she caused him was too much and though he did not stop loving her, he could not live with a heart."

"So what did he put in the chest?" Luigi asked.

"His heart," Candy simply said. Luigi was astonished at that, how on Earth was that possible. It seemed like something out of a Gore Verbinski movie, just disgusting. Then again, maybe the science in this dimension was actually advanced and did more than cause pollution... but to live without a heart. That was just, something else entirely. Pure astonishment fell upon everyone's faces as well.

"Literally or figuratively?" Luigi asked again. He knew it was probably literally, did Bowser literally or figuratively turn into a monster. Chances were literally.

"It was not worth for him to feel the small fleeting joy of life," Candy answered. "So with a blade brought by Tatanga from the far emptiness of space, he carved out his own heart and hid it in the chest, keeping the key on him at all times."

"Did you know this?" Luigi asked Toadsworth.

"No," answered the old steward. "I did not know where the key was, but now I do. So now all we do is get the key, head off to Dinohattan and save Daisy! A much more easy and simple adventure than your last one. I'm sure your feeling it's much less stressful too. I mean, this time all you did was rescue me from a bone cage and go on a boat with me. Now we find Rool, make an exchange and leave!" Candy grabbed his hand and pulled of the glove, showing a red spot to everyone. They were shocked at the presence of it's hideousness.

"Land is where you are safe Steward Toadsworth," she told him. "So keep land on you at all times, you too Mario." She gave the plumber a jar of dirt.

"Dirt?" Mario asked.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it," she offered.

"NO!" Toadsworth almost shouted.


	26. Chapter 26

Using the compass, which Mario and Luigi learned would lead it's user to whatever they desired the most in life, the motley crew had set sail. Heading for an archipeligo in the open ocean, they were to look for King K. Rool's ship, the Flying Krock. It was said to be a very dangerous ship, armed with an infinite supply of ammunition for it's guns and a fearsome crew of creatures called Kremlings. Apparently they were much like Bowser in his final transformation, more lizard than man, turned that way by the years of servitude under King K. Rool. It was not a devo transformation, though, just something that happened by the attiutde of the ship, transforming whomever served like the inside of their hearts. Toad told the brothers of a man his uncle knew, Bullet Bill, who apparently now looked black like a bullet due to servitude under Rool. It all depended what they were inside. Most dinosaurs were prideful, and became lizardmen. What Rool was, would remain to be seen.

Coming across an archipelago, the rain was low, but rising slowly yet steadily. Waves pounded against a scuttled ship run aground against the rocks with it's men praying for help, not seeing the slowly approaching vessel. "That's the Flying Krock?" Luigi asked his companions. "It doesn't look like much."

"Neither do you," Mario pointed out. "Don't underestimate it, might end up being like Bowser. Must have run afoul of some reef? So what's the plan then?"

"I'll row over there and find the bloody key," Luigi offered, handing Mario the spyglass. Taking a sword, he also put, "I won't waste ammo. Any of these lizard crewmen I'll just cut down, aight?"

"I like it, simple and easy to remember!" Mario gave a thumbs up as his seal of approval.

"I think we should douse the lamps," Toadsworth ordered Larry as Lemmy helped Luigi into his rowboat. The younger brother sailed over towards the wreckage and in the distance, the Toads' ship began to fall black, as it's lamps were doused one by one. Lighting a lantern, he entered the scuttled ship and looked around. There were bodies everywhere, strewn across as if there were no tomorrow. Then there was one sailor, trying to pull a rope.

"Sailor?" Luigi asked him.

"Trying to hoist the jib!" the nervously said over and over again. He was frightened into a righteous shock, Luigi deemed. Then, a man fell off from the top sail and started to wiggle a little. Realizing the man to still be alive, Luigi ran over to help him. Turning the person over, Luigi dropped the corpse after seeing the face to be suctioned off, as if the Puftoss was real. "No... foul breath," the man behind him said. Luigi turned around in horror to see the real Flying Krock, rising out of the ocean and then settling next to the scuttled ship. It was a green ship with ugly flags hoisted up. It was a massive ship with metal points along it's edges, though. Jumping up to the rails, Luigi stared in astonishment at the massive ship as figures began to appear on it's sides. Sure enough, their silhouettes gave them the appearance of lizard men. They were all smaller than Bowser was, however, and appeared like normal men, just in lizard form.

Luigi took out his sword. He was thankful that using some of the money Dane gave him had taken fencing lessons. The lizard men jumped over to the scuttled ship and one of them shouted out, "Down on your marrow and pray!" Luigi jumped out from the corners and began to fight, playing the hero like he knew Daisy would want him to. These men did not deserve this fate... but these men were too much and Luigi could not evade them. Turning a head over his shoulder, one punched Luigi square in the temple, knocking him out. Mario watched in horror from his spyglass as the lizard men lined all the surviving men up on their knees one by one.

* * *

Then, out of the water rose a massive figure. At least six foot eight, still smaller than crump, but much more fiersome and strong looking. He bore black pants, a belt with a pirate skull and a giant red coat. His hat was black and his figure massive, Mario wondered how they would get out of this one. It was King K. Rool, a lizard larger than even Bowser and all the more terrifying. His face was that of a komodo dragon's but jet green, his motions were wicked and he made his way to the first sailor. Mario watched intently through the spyglass. "Do you fear Kamek?" Rool asked. "Do you fear his dark abyss? All your deeds laid bare. All your sins punished, I can offer you an escape."

"Don't listen to him!" a sailor shouted. Rool made his way to that sailor.

"Do you fear Kamek?" Rool asked again.

"I'll take my chances," the sailor said in defiance. Rool made a motion with his hand and a lizardman, with bullet black skin, slit the sailor's throat and threw him into the ocean.

"You cruel blackguard!" another sailor shouted.

In sudden anger, Rool shouted out, "Life is cruel, why should the afterlife be any different? Join my crew and postpone his judgment, one hundred years before the mast! Will you serve?" Just like that, he regained his composure.

"I will," the first sailor asked agreed. Rool walked down the line and analyzed the remaining sailors, then he spotted Luigi.

"You are neither dead nor dying," he determined. "What are you doing here?"

"Steward Toadsworth sent me to settle his debt," Luigi said between bursts, unwilling to speak to such a creature. Rool seemed surprised at first, then embarrassed and then angry. Mario watched the captain's motions through the spyglass, through it, a distant Rool spoke some more to Luigi and glanced over his shoulder and it was as if he looked straight through the spyglass and into Mario's eye. Frightened, Mario took the spyglass away from his eye and found the massive lizard in front of him, teleported if one would.

"You have a debt to pay, Mario," Rool determined. "As for you, Toadsworth. Fifteen years you have been Steward of the Sthuul Kingdom..."

"Actually only two years," Toadsworth interjected. "I was imprisoned for most of it in Dinohattan."

"Then you were a poor steward but a steward nonetheless," determined Rool. "Tell me how you kept introducing yourself as the steward?"

"You have my payment!" Toadsworth shouted out to the anger of Mario. "One soul over mine."

"His soul is not equal yours!" Rool roared. "But perhaps we can work out a deal," the king then calmly suggested. "This Mario now has King Koopa's debt. I offer you both three days to garner me one hundred souls to serve as Kremlings as a part of my crew and I'll release you both from your debts." Mario noted Rool to have a very Scottish like accent, with him clicking his tongue after the ends of some words. It was strange, but perhaps he was only thinking of that to distance himself on the worries of what might happen to Luigi.

"Hey, hey!" Mario intruded. "Give me back my brother!"

"I'll tell you what, Plumber," Rool addressed Mario. "I get to keep the boy, as a good faith payment. That leaves you with ninety nine souls to go Mario and if you don't deliver you and King Koopa truly become one and the same! I wonder, though, Mario, can you live with this, condemn innocent souls to save yourself from becoming the demonic monster you saw Koopa become?"

"Give me my brother," Mario adamantly stated. "His soul is worth more than a thousand and you're not getting it, it belongs to someone else." The mention of love was unmoving to Rool, he refused to even blink.

"I keep the boy, ninety-nine souls minimum," Rool simply said.

"Then let's seal it," Mario accepted the challenge. He and Rool shook hands, there was nothing the plumber would not do to save his brother. Luigi and Daisy were the two most important things in his life.

"Just like Bowser before ye," Rool laughed, disappearing right after. Toadsworth looked at his hand, the red spot was gone. Mario looked at his, there it was.

"My debt is on you now?" Toadsworth asked and then laughed in merriment, much to Mario's annoyance. Angry, Mario went to him and turned him around.

"If Dane wasn't your nephew, I would have done much worse," said Mario and knocked out the Steward.


	27. Chapter 27

"I suppose we are fortunate he didn't specify the condition the souls needed to be dealt in."

* * *

Arriving at Rogueport, the crew, dubbed the Starshroom Enterprise by Mario, began recruiting to increase their ranks. Mario determined if they wanted to somehow best King K. Rool, he knew that they needed to at least have a crew that rivaled in size. He was not prepared to sacrifice an entire city to save himself, but Luigi, that was a different story. He was willing to damn himself to save his brother. Of course some like Pauline and Eddie would object, but there was nothing more important to Mario than the safety of his brother. He had to ensure that in any way possible. "What makes you think you're worthy to crew aboard the Starshroom Enterprise?" Dane asked a very old man.

"Well, y'see, I figure I might still go and see the world while I'm young!" he declared.

"You'll do, next!" asked Dane.

"My wife ran off with my brother and I don't care what happens!" said the next man, very drunk.

"Yep!" Dane signed him up. "NEXT!" Then up walked a Shy Guy, a blue Shy Guy. "What's your story?" The Shy Guy almost immediately pointed to Mario.

"My story," his muffled voice spoke like it was through a telephone. "Is exactly the same story as his story. Just one chapter behind: I get chased out of my home and pursued for three years." Mario suddenly had a clue who the Shy Guy was and stopped fidgeting with Toadsworth's compass. "The pursuit cost me my honour, my home and my life."

"Ludwig von Koopa?" Dane asked, curious.

"Not anymore," the Shy Guy responded. "The Koopa Troopa doesn't listen to me anymore. Aren't you listening? I almost had Daisy, she would've been mine!" Mario began to try and sneak away. "I would have if my father hadn't been killed!" Dane was quiet at that moment and fell back when the Shy Guy flipped the table. "So am I worthy to serve under the Super Mario? So do I make your crew or not? Are you going somewhere nice?" Mario began to continue to sneak and felt a pistol to his skull. "Or should I kill you now before you get there?"

"You're hired?" Mario asked.

"Sorry, old habits," the Shy Guy took off his mask to reveal the face of Ludwig von Koopa. He threw the mask on the ground and the other Shy Guys in the room, red and blue, began attacking the Starshroom Enterprise crew. Mario and Dane quickly sneaked out of the bar and watched as Ludwig tried to fight everyone off, only to get smashed in the head by a bottle. Unknown to them all, Lord Crump's right hand men Kero Zene and Kudgel were watching their progress. Mario and Dane looked at the sight one more time and burst out laughing.

Hurrying along the docks, their crew began to load the cargo. A red Shy Girl approached Mario, helping Ludwig walk with an arm. "Come to join my crew?" Mario asked her, almost failing at trying not to laugh at the Koopaling, whose brothers inside the ship watched the sight nervously.

"I'm here to find the man I love," her disguised voice preventing Mario from recognizing her.

"I'm deeply flattered, but no," Mario stopped her and began to turn around. "Dump him anywhere."

"I mean your brother, Mario," the Shy Girl said and took of her mask. Mario peered at her, it was none other than Daisy! "I know you and Luigi set out to find Toadsworth, where are they?"

"Look, I shouldn't have to tell you this," Mario began. "But because of that stupid steward Toadsworth my brother got crushed into King K. Rool's crew."

"King K. Rool?" she asked.

"Oh please," Ludwig fell on the ground. "The kruel demon kaptain of the Flying Krock!"

"You look awful, what are you doing here?" Mario asked him.

"You hired me, I can't help it if your standards are lax," Ludwig protested.

"Mario!" shouted Daisy. "All I want is to find Luigi!"

"Look, there's only one way to save Luigi! There's a chest...," Mario uneasily said.

"Oh dear," Ludwig interjected. His brothers then came up from behind him.

"It contains the steal beating heart of Rool!" they explained.

"Look, my mind is not clear, so I can't use it," Mario handed Daisy Toadsworth's compass. "It points to the thing you want the most in the world. If you want to save Luigi, we need Rool's chest, so by proxy, is that not what you want most in the world?" Daisy opened the compass and it pointed to the direction of the chest.

"Finally!" Toad shouted.

"Welcome to the crew, brother!" Lemmy greeted Ludwig.

"Weigh off that anchor and let's go!" Toad ordered.


	28. Chapter 28

The Flying Krock, at full sail, cut through the water. Luigi swore he could hear, no matter how faint, as if from a church's pipe organ, a haunting and mournful tune. Rool had put Luigi to work right away, with the rest of the crew treating him as a sailor. It actually was not bad work, a bit hard, but not really much different from plumbing. Luigi knew that given enough time, he could get used to being a pirate. He just didn't want to end up green, octopusy or lizardish like the others. It was also the least sexist job, as Luigi noted, he had seen several female sailors around as well. The biggest difference in them was that they seemed to look green, but otherwise retain a normal composure. Working the deck alongside the phantasmagoric crew, they were trying to move a cannon and hoist it towards the bow. The bosun was supervising them and by the mean mug on his face, Luigi really did not feel like stirring up trouble. Carrying a nine tailed whip, he used it liberally: "Secure the tail of the mainsail tackle! Segale!" Seeing that as his cue, Luigi moved towards the line and reached for it.

"Step aside," he told a female sailor in his way.

"Mind yourself!" she barked and pushed him aside. Luigi stared angrily at the back of her head. This green woman was asking for it. Grabbing her shoulder, he turned her around to face him. "Hey now!" she cried out in frustration, pushing him back. Some of the crew was paying attention, especially the bullet skinned one. She was ready for a fight, she raised a fist slightly but then got a good look at Luigi. "No," she whispered silently. "Not you." Any crewmen watching stopped and began to move the hanging cannon, the line, however, had not been fastened. It moved fast, very fast and by the time Luigi caught it he was swung over hard into the gunwail as the cannon fell.

"Haul that weevil to his feet!" the bosun, whom Luigi acknowledged as Spiny because of his red face and the spines growing out the back of his head. The crewmen yanked Luigi up from his feet and shoved him against a pole, his back exposed. "Five lashes'll remind ye to stay on them!" Spiny raised his hand, but it was caught by the woman, who Luigi looked at curiously, it was almost as if he knew her, her and the Bullet Bill figure. "Impeding me in my duties?" questioned Spiny. "You'll share the punishment!"

"I'll take it all," added a third figure who came to the scene. It was Bullet Bill in all his, well, it wasn't glory whatever it was. At some point during the ruckus, the organ music had ceased. Nobody on the crew, who had either taken the side of Bill or Spiny, realized this. Unbenownst to them, King K. Rool stood on the deck, apprising the situation. He made his way forward, not thundering, but silently.

"Will you now?" he asked, making his way forward. "And what would prompt such act of charity?" He looked at Bill with such malevolence that even though the man did not want to answer, he knew he had no choice.

"He's my nephew, my brother's youngest son," Bill bluntly answered. Luigi turned around and looked at the man, no, that could not be his uncle Bill. There was no way, it did not make sense! Luigi's glare at the man was vile.

"What fortuitous circumstance be this!" Rool roared in laughter. "You spare your niece punishment for so long and now ano'er of your brood has entered my ship! You wish to spare your nephew the bosun's discipline?"

"Aye," Bill confirmed.

Rool took the whip from Spiny and analyzed it. "Five lashes be owed, I think it fair," he surmised and handed Bill the whip.

"No, I won't -," Bill started but a look at Rool's face crushed all defiance.

"Bosun, to the bone," Rool clearly stated, looking hard at Bill. The bosun raised his arm, but was again stopped by the woman, who handed the whip to Bill. Bullet pushed Spiny to the ground and nodded to the crewmen holding Luigi, they turned him around and bared his back. Bullet raised the lash, some defiance grew in him but he looked at the fearsome draconic-like Rool and five times the whip cracked. Five times Luigi screamed himself sore. Five times Bill pained himself inside. With each crack of the whip, Bill waited until Luigi was silent to start the next one. At each silence, Rool let out a single: "ha".

* * *

For a few moments Luigi lay sprawled, gasping for air on the deck as the crew got back to work around him. Slowly getting up, he staggered into the hold. The girl followed him and tried to help him onto a bench. "I don't need your help."

"The bosun prides himself on being able to cleave flesh from bone," the woman bluntly claimed.

"So ya want me ta believe that handing my 'uncle' Bill the whip was an act of compassion?" Luigi asked the green woman.

"From a sister to a brother," her words were blunt, but they pierced Luigi's soul. "Yes, it was." Luigi looked long and hard at her and he knew it, she was his younger sister Rosalina. Hardened and mutated by the waters of King K. Rool, the kruel kaptain had transformed her into something he had never thought she could be. On her bandana, and Luigi was shocked that he didn't see it before, was the faded star known as Luma. Luigi refused to cry.

"Then I guess I really am Mario's brother," Luigi whispered. "For years I've been telling myself that you're dead. You and dad, Mario hit with a slab of diamond ore and left for dead, but you and dad - missing."

"What?" Rosalina asked.

"The debt!" Luigi exclaimed, horrified that Mario actually was not lying. "The debt that pop had to repay! You, he and Uncle Bill you all just up and vanished one day! Mario kept looking for you but we could never find you and then we found that Luma cap in your room one day, based off of some Japanese anime character - I think. We'd stopped searching after someone threatened Mario with a note, we took it as a meaning I'd be next if Mario didn't stop." Rosalina nodded in understanding, but stopped - puzzled by something.

"Who's Mario?" she asked.

"Our brother!" Luigi quietly said, horrified that she could forget. "How on Earth could you forget?"

"We're not on Earth...," Rosalina responded, slowly remembering things of Brooklyn. "I doubt I could tell you much of anything except the here and now, only reason I remembered you. I don't even remember what my mother's name was." Luigi was shocked. How cruel was Rool. Then he realized it, the green on men and women aboard the ship, it was a rot. For one hundred years they would rot aboard his ship and slowly burn away, the few who could remember why they served in the first place would escape, but the others, the ones who would become the most cannibalistic and lizardish out of all of them, would stay. "So many here've joined the crew thinking they've cheated the powers, but they've entered oblivion - New York is a state in our world, right?" Luigi nodded and she continued talking. "Eventually, those not sadistic enough but not strong enough to remember'll end up like Dark Bones." She pointed to a mass of goop on the wall. In it lay a set of bones, like the ones Daisy had shown Luigi back when all of this was just beginning to start. His body was a part of the ship. "Until you can remember when your debt is paid, your a part of the ship. Not like me and uncle Bill - I think - maybe, why did you do it Luigi?"

"I don't owe Rool anything," Luigi said, pondering his sister's words.

"Then you've got to escape, it's too late for us!" his sister advised him. Luigi remembered when she was just a baby, the cutest thing he had ever seen. He shook his head, he had to focus at the task at hand.

"Not until I find this!" Luigi opened up the folding of the key. "This key leads to some chest belonging to Rool that I can use to save someone... maybe you." Rosalina had never seen it before and looked at it, amazed. Her green skin sparkled and Luigi wondered how long she had exactly been there.

"Dead Kremling's Chest!" groaned Dark Bones, with the picture of the key having had triggered some kind of memory in the skeleton's long lost brain. "Open the chest with a key. Stab the heart. Lose your heart. Gain a restriction. Or don't stab the heart. The Krock must always have a captain! Hidden key! Hidden Chest!" Luigi tried to make sense of this and for a second pondered what it meant. If by stabbing the heart one would lose their own heart, where did a restriction come into play and would the stabber become captain? Surely stabbing the heart would kill Rool and if so, couldn't the heart be used as blackmail? Slowly, Luigi began to see through Toadsworth's thinly veiled lies. "DON'T STAB THE HEART!"

"There is no key, can't be found, so there is no key," Rosalina reasoned.

"I'm sorry sister, but like I said, I don't need yer help," Luigi answered with a smile, formulating a plan.


	29. Chapter 29

The Flying Krock, at full sail, cut through the water. Luigi swore he could hear, no matter how faint, as if from a church's pipe organ, a haunting and mournful tune. Rool had put Luigi to work right away, with the rest of the crew treating him as a sailor. It actually was not bad work, a bit hard, but not really much different from plumbing. Luigi knew that given enough time, he could get used to being a pirate. He just didn't want to end up green, octopusy or lizardish like the others. It was also the least sexist job, as Luigi noted, he had seen several female sailors around as well. The biggest difference in them was that they seemed to look green, but otherwise retain a normal composure. Working the deck alongside the phantasmagoric crew, they were trying to move a cannon and hoist it towards the bow. The bosun was supervising them and by the mean mug on his face, Luigi really did not feel like stirring up trouble. Carrying a nine tailed whip, he used it liberally: "Secure the tail of the mainsail tackle! Segale!" Seeing that as his cue, Luigi moved towards the line and reached for it.

"Step aside," he told a female sailor in his way.

"Mind yourself!" she barked and pushed him aside. Luigi stared angrily at the back of her head. This green woman was asking for it. Grabbing her shoulder, he turned her around to face him. "Hey now!" she cried out in frustration, pushing him back. Some of the crew was paying attention, especially the bullet skinned one. She was ready for a fight, she raised a fist slightly but then got a good look at Luigi. "No," she whispered silently. "Not you." Any crewmen watching stopped and began to move the hanging cannon, the line, however, had not been fastened. It moved fast, very fast and by the time Luigi caught it he was swung over hard into the gunwail as the cannon fell.

"Haul that weevil to his feet!" the bosun, whom Luigi acknowledged as Spiny because of his red face and the spines growing out the back of his head. The crewmen yanked Luigi up from his feet and shoved him against a pole, his back exposed. "Five lashes'll remind ye to stay on them!" Spiny raised his hand, but it was caught by the woman, who Luigi looked at curiously, it was almost as if he knew her, her and the Bullet Bill figure. "Impeding me in my duties?" questioned Spiny. "You'll share the punishment!"

"I'll take it all," added a third figure who came to the scene. It was Bullet Bill in all his, well, it wasn't glory whatever it was. At some point during the ruckus, the organ music had ceased. Nobody on the crew, who had either taken the side of Bill or Spiny, realized this. Unbenownst to them, King K. Rool stood on the deck, apprising the situation. He made his way forward, not thundering, but silently.

"Will you now?" he asked, making his way forward. "And what would prompt such act of charity?" He looked at Bill with such malevolence that even though the man did not want to answer, he knew he had no choice.

"He's my nephew, my brother's youngest son," Bill bluntly answered. Luigi turned around and looked at the man, no, that could not be his uncle Bill. There was no way, it did not make sense! Luigi's glare at the man was vile.

"What fortuitous circumstance be this!" Rool roared in laughter. "You spare your niece punishment for so long and now ano'er of your brood has entered my ship! You wish to spare your nephew the bosun's discipline?"

"Aye," Bill confirmed.

Rool took the whip from Spiny and analyzed it. "Five lashes be owed, I think it fair," he surmised and handed Bill the whip.

"No, I won't -," Bill started but a look at Rool's face crushed all defiance.

"Bosun, to the bone," Rool clearly stated, looking hard at Bill. The bosun raised his arm, but was again stopped by the woman, who handed the whip to Bill. Bullet pushed Spiny to the ground and nodded to the crewmen holding Luigi, they turned him around and bared his back. Bullet raised the lash, some defiance grew in him but he looked at the fearsome draconic-like Rool and five times the whip cracked. Five times Luigi screamed himself sore. Five times Bill pained himself inside. With each crack of the whip, Bill waited until Luigi was silent to start the next one. At each silence, Rool let out a single: "ha".

* * *

For a few moments Luigi lay sprawled, gasping for air on the deck as the crew got back to work around him. Slowly getting up, he staggered into the hold. The girl followed him and tried to help him onto a bench. "I don't need your help."

"The bosun prides himself on being able to cleave flesh from bone," the woman bluntly claimed.

"So ya want me ta believe that handing my 'uncle' Bill the whip was an act of compassion?" Luigi asked the green woman.

"From a sister to a brother," her words were blunt, but they pierced Luigi's soul. "Yes, it was." Luigi looked long and hard at her and he knew it, she was his younger sister Rosalina. Hardened and mutated by the waters of King K. Rool, the kruel kaptain had transformed her into something he had never thought she could be. On her bandana, and Luigi was shocked that he didn't see it before, was the faded star known as Luma. Luigi refused to cry.

"Then I guess I really am Mario's brother," Luigi whispered. "For years I've been telling myself that you're dead. You and dad, Mario hit with a slab of diamond ore and left for dead, but you and dad - missing."

"What?" Rosalina asked.

"The debt!" Luigi exclaimed, horrified that Mario actually was not lying. "The debt that pop had to repay! You, he and Uncle Bill you all just up and vanished one day! Mario kept looking for you but we could never find you and then we found that Luma cap in your room one day, based off of some Japanese anime character - I think. We'd stopped searching after someone threatened Mario with a note, we took it as a meaning I'd be next if Mario didn't stop." Rosalina nodded in understanding, but stopped - puzzled by something.

"Who's Mario?" she asked.

"Our brother!" Luigi quietly said, horrified that she could forget. "I know you were just a baby, but... how on Earth could you forget?"

"We're not on Earth...," Rosalina responded, slowly remembering things of Brooklyn. "I doubt I could tell you much of anything except the here and now, only reason I remembered you. I don't even remember what my mother's name was." Luigi was shocked. How cruel was Rool. Then he realized it, the green on men and women aboard the ship, it was a rot. For one hundred years they would rot aboard his ship and slowly burn away, the few who could remember why they served in the first place would escape, but the others, the ones who would become the most cannibalistic and lizardish out of all of them, would stay. "So many here've joined the crew thinking they've cheated the powers, but they've entered oblivion - New York is a state in our world, right?" Luigi nodded and she continued talking. "Eventually, those not sadistic enough but not strong enough to remember'll end up like Dark Bones." She pointed to a mass of goop on the wall. In it lay a set of bones, like the ones Daisy had shown Luigi back when all of this was just beginning to start. His body was a part of the ship. "Until you can remember when your debt is paid, your a part of the ship. Not like me and uncle Bill - I think - maybe, why did you do it Luigi?"

"I don't owe Rool anything," Luigi said, pondering his sister's words.

"Then you've got to escape, it's too late for us!" his sister advised him. Luigi remembered when she was just a baby, the cutest thing he had ever seen. He shook his head, he had to focus at the task at hand.

"Not until I find this!" Luigi opened up the folding of the key. "This key leads to some chest belonging to Rool that I can use to save someone... maybe you." Rosalina had never seen it before and looked at it, amazed. Her green skin sparkled and Luigi wondered how long she had exactly been there.

"Dead Kremling's Chest!" groaned Dark Bones, with the picture of the key having had triggered some kind of memory in the skeleton's long lost brain. "Open the chest with a key. Stab the heart. Lose your heart. Gain a restriction. Or don't stab the heart. The Krock must always have a captain! Hidden key! Hidden Chest!" Luigi tried to make sense of this and for a second pondered what it meant. If by stabbing the heart one would lose their own heart, where did a restriction come into play and would the stabber become captain? Surely stabbing the heart would kill Rool and if so, couldn't the heart be used as blackmail? Slowly, Luigi began to see through Toadsworth's thinly veiled lies. "DON'T STAB THE HEART!"

"There is no key, can't be found, so there is no key," Rosalina reasoned.

"I'm sorry sister, but like I said, I don't need yer help," Luigi answered with a smile, formulating a plan.


	30. Chapter 30

From what Mario had been able to tell, through Daisy, Toadsworth's compass was going to lead them to Dead Kremling's Chest, which would contain something to help them gain leverage over Lord Crump. According to Ludwig that was the still beating heart of King Rool. Carrying a bottle of rum, which glittered in the night sky, he started to walk over to Daisy, who had been staring out to the sea but backed off when he noticed Ludwig there and watched in silence from the darkness. "Is everything all right?" Ludwig asked her. She was startled, but she noticed he was undaunted. "Daisy, you are troubled." She nodded, not seeing where he was getting at.

"I just didn't think that getting freedom from Crump would take this much trouble, why didn't I just kill him?" she asked herself.

"It's good you didn't," he assured her. His words were truth, Daisy knew that since he laid eyes on her in that interrogation room, he had been falling in love with her. What she didn't know was, though, if she still loved Luigi enough not to betray him. "Otherwise we would've attracted the personal attention of Sir Grodus and from what my father told me, he is a very powerful man." She moved away from him, confused about her feelings. "Y'know, I'm sorry for everything that happened with my father and you, I really am."

"No thank you," she said and pointed to her neck.

"Do you know how that happened? He'd never even mentioned it to us!" protested Ludwig.

"Did he ever pass you a moral center?" asked Daisy. "How low did you ever stoop to in Dinohattan?"

"Trifles," Ludwig sighed. "You know I want you by my side." He got straight to the point. "You long for freedom, to do what you want. So long have people told you what to do, it's your kingdom, it's your destiny, when have you ever done what you wanted?"

"What you're saying," Daisy implied. "Hopefully there will be a day that you show it. You will have a chance to do something brave and prove you are not your father's heir." She was attracted to him and she wanted resist it now. She moved closer. "You're going to want it. To be admired... the rewards..." The words were not coming out and she went closer to Ludwig, he stroked her hair and their lips met in a shared love. The only thing was, that Daisy knew she did not want to betray Luigi. as Ludwig pressed into their kiss, she knew she no longer could. She pulled back, stared Ludwig in the eyes and walked away.

Mario watched, astonished at what had transpired but glad that Daisy had quickly broke off the kiss.

* * *

"LAND HO!" Dane cried out the next morning.

The Starshroom Enterprise docked itself right outside of a reef and in a longboat, sent out Mario, Daisy and Ludwig. The latter two were not aware if the former knew what they had done, and so none talked as they all made their way to the island. Mario, terrified of the Puftoss' prospects, ordered Lemmy and Larry to row quickly. "You're pulling too fast!" Larry complained.

"You're pulling too slow!" Lemmy declared. "We don't want the Puftoss to catch us!" Mario winced at the mention of the creature's name, but they made it to shore quick enough and Mario quickly ordered them to stay guard. Wondering where the chest could be, Ludwig quickly identified a giant abandoned temple. Entering, they found it to be in honor of some Kamek, whose name Mario recognized in Bowser's speech.

"Do you know this place?" Mario asked.

"Sure," Ludwig told him. "My father married my mother here, and after that, our grandfather, the Kerog of the Dark Land, razed all inhabitants. Our grandfather had a deal with Rool... I just don't know what it was."

"This is the temple where your grandfather made his deal," said Mario. Ludwig stared at him, wondering how Mario could possibly know this. "If this was a part of your grandfather's domain, why is it abandoned? This all belongs to Rool." With that Mario made his way up to the alter where in a strange language transcribed on a pedestal was a picture, the spitting image of King K. Rool, the Kaptain of the Krock. Smashing it, Mario pulled out the Dead Krock's Chest.

"It's real," Daisy was shocked.

"With good reason," a dripping wet Luigi entered the scene. "Let's secure it and leave. Rool can't step foot on land for another ten years but his forces are storming the island now." Daisy looked at him and at Ludwig, her heart pounded in unison with Rool's.

"How did you get here?" Mario asked.

"I never would've thought!" Luigi roared. "My own brother sells me out to repay his own debt!"

"What are you talking about?" Mario cried. "I didn't even -." Luigi punched him and took out his sword, only for it to be met by Ludwig's.

"You have no idea what I'm fighting for Luigi," Ludwig declared. "My life, my standard and my love. You may have once known those things but not anymore!"

"I thought I was fighting for my family!" Luigi yelled. "But I realized, swimming here, that my father had a debt and Daisy had that scar, Mario is in debt somehow. He betrayed me, so I'm fighting for my love!"

"You can't kill Rool, Luigi," Mario struggled, getting up. "You have no idea what it'll do to you..."

"I have the chance to redeem the mistakes our father made, Mario!" roared Luigi. They started their swordfight, Ludwig obviously better skilled than Luigi, but the plumber being fueled by anger was not an easy opponent. Daisy watched in horror as they fought each other, each unknowingly for the other. She had professed her love for Luigi, but Ludwig must have thought she would give it to him.

Mario pulled out a pistol and began to set aim for Ludwig, but was tackled down by a crocodilian like man. He quickly realized it was a member of Rool's crew. Running up the temple's bell tower, he caught the monster by surprise, shooting it in the abdomen and sending it tumbling. Another jumped behind him and grabbed Mario behind the neck, forcing him to jump down the stairs and land on his back. The monster was practically broken. Heading out of the tower, Mario started shooting. These creatures would be stunned, they probably would survive. With a clear path, he noticed Luigi fighting Ludwig and made his way for them.

Ludwig smashed the hilt of his sword into Luigi's temple, snatched the key and kicked the plumber off a set of stone stairs. Luigi quickly grabbed the key back and jumped over a gulley, the Koopaling quick to follow, his blade ferociously on the offense. "Excuse me Daisy...," breathed Ludwig, widening Luigi's eyes as he realized the Koopaling's love, "while I kill the man who ruined my life!" He slashed Luigi across the chest with the sword, the brutality of it shocked Daisy and she wondered for a second, if she was wrong in choosing Ludwig. He then kicked Luigi onto a mill wheel, which broke free as the plumber fought the soldier. Their swords were gone and it was a fist fight now.

Mario jumped into the wheel just as the key got loose and stuck on a nail, Mario, running like a hamster, tried to grab for it, but a support bar came loose and whacked him in the face, forcing him out of the wheel. Running and focusing on the key, Mario grabbed it and jumped back in the wheel, joining the fight with his brother. He noted how much stronger and skilled Ludwig was, but his brother, despite being severely outmatched was doing all right. After getting in a good right hook at Ludwig, Mario was once again, kicked off the wheel. He had the key, however, and ran for shore, getting the chest from Daisy and opening it, seeing the beating heart he quickly placed it in a jar of sand and secured it in the rowboat. "Remember Daisy, it's for Luigi's own good," Mario told her breathless. "I know what happened, you and Ludwig. It's a small boat, I won't tell Luigi... but you have to see, Ludwig is a monster." He was practically begging her, but he didn't wait to see her answer and ran back for the wheel, but much to his surprise, it rolled onto the beach and began to break apart, Ludwig at the bottom and Luigi at the top. Ludwig ran out and stared at Luigi who was running as it broke underneath and behind him, much to his surprise, however, Luigi jumped. Aiming a punch, he smoked the Koopaling across the jaw before collapsing.

Ludwig, staggered towards the rowboat for a reprieve. Grabbing the letters of marque, he noticed the jar and smiled. "Daisy, you will be mine, love," he silently declared and grabbed the jar. The burst of anger done, it appeared they would all leave together, or all without him. The brothers and Daisy made their way for the rowboat with Lemmy and Larry. The eldest Koopaling grabbed the chest, "Look, there is no getting off here with the chest," he sighed. "Leave me."

"Respect his wishes!" Mario cried. Daisy looked at him and watched as Rool's pirates chased him into the forests.


	31. Chapter 31

As soon as he realized he was out of sight, Ludwig fell. "You'd die for that?" a crewman asked.

"No," Ludwig answered and handed it over. He clutched his jacket, the letters of marque and the jar tightly as the crewmen vanished.

* * *

"Where's Ludwig?" Dane asked.

"Fell behind," Luigi told him.

"Good to have you back Luigi!" Dane declared.

They set sail and as they entered black waters, as Mario expected, the Flying Krock rose up from the water below to join them. Mario stared across at his new nemesis, King K. Rool in the eye, nobody saying anything. As Rool raised his hands, the Krock's cannons began to show themselves. The Enterprise and the Krock began to fire into each other with vicious and malicious intent, Rool's murderous rage was only starting to show. Then, just as the Krock began to take advantage, Rool started laughing and his ship retreated into the depths of the ocean.

Suddenly the ship lurched. "We must have hit a reef?" Daisy exclaimed.

"NO!" Luigi roared. His time at the Krock had taught him better. "Puftoss." Mario stopped sifting through the Toads and terrified, looked at the red spot on his hand. Black bubbles churning, the spines of the Puftoss began to shoot through the ship.

"What do we do?" Dane cried.

"Gunpowder!" Luigi declared. "Get the gunpowder barrels and drop them into it! That'll buy us five minutes time to retreat into the longboats. The Starshroom Enterprise is done for!" Doing just that, they gathered the barrels all into four nets and threw them down the sides of the ship. The resulting explosion was massive, but all of the spines disappeared. A guttural and primal cry was heard out of the depths of the water, they had hurt the Puftoss, hurt it badly. They began to enter the longboats for evacuation, and as they evacuated, only Mario and Daisy were left, and only because she saw his hand while he was sifting.

"Thanks, Mario, for everything," said Daisy, and Mario looked at the scar on her neck.

"You're not free yet," Mario looked down, staying his hand next to the beam. She hugged him, and as their hug parted, Mario looked down to the handcuff by his hand, chaining him to the ship.

"I'm sorry, Mario, but it's after you, not the ship," she revealed. She handed Mario a pistol, for him to use how he pleased and left. She quickly placed Luigi, whose injuries at Ludwig's hands were forcing him unconscious, into her lap. She was sorry now; sorry not loving him when he needed love most. She was most sorry, however, for damning his brother.

* * *

Mario tried to break free of the chains, breaking a lantern to try and oil it, but to no avail as he noticed the massive spiked shadow encroaching him. He turned to see the Puftoss, a giant puffer fish whose fins allowed it to grab the edges of the boat and spines gave it a fearsome demeanor. Mario looked into the Hell of the monster and the red spot on his hand burned away. It roared at him and began to pull him and the ship down into the depths. "Hello beastie!" Mario exclaimed and as he drowned, unloaded the shots of the pistol straight into the right hand fish of King K. Rool.


	32. Chapter 32

"Bowser... Mario... our debt is settled. DAMN YOU!"

* * *

**Dinohattan**

"The last of our ships have returned," Kero Zene informed Lord Crump.

"Any word on the chest?" he asked.

"No, but our ships picked up a man carrying these," Zene threw the letters of marque at Crump's hands.

"I took the liberty of signing mine myself," Ludwig revealed himself.

"Ludwig, heir to the now scattered Koopa Troopa?" Crump shook the Koopaling's hand. "But if claiming this letter is your intent then you must have something to barter, the compass perhaps."

"Better," Ludwig tossed a thumping burlap bag onto Crump's desk. "The heart of King K. Rool."

"You, Ludwig," Crump smiled. "Are the new Deputy in Chief of the X-Naut Trading Company. Thank you for getting us a fine new vessel in our fleet."

* * *

**Candy's Hut  
**The members of the Starshroom Enterprise knew nowhere else to go to heal Luigi's wounds, he was bleeding internally. For a human to go up against a Koopaling, especially Ludwig, was practically suicide. Yet his rage let him hold out long enough and nearly even win the battle. Flames lit the shore by her hut and hundreds of candles lay around Luigi's body, each placed by either a man, child or woman in the small town near the rotting bog that housed the hut. Her magic worked it's way into his system and his wounds began to disappear and when he woke, he was greeted by Daisy with a kiss. She brought him into the hut where Candy was giving her little speech. "Against the cold and sorrow," she muttered. "I know you thought that with the heart, Luigi, you could've freed your sister and uncle's souls."

"It doesn't matter, my brother's gone, his debt repaid, there is no way I can get to Rool now," Luigi sighed at his misfortune. "It seems his honest luck finally wore out." That hit Daisy hard.

"TO MARIO!" she shouted and the crew all joined in with an 'aye'.

"I was angry at him," Luigi whispered. "If I can bring him back...?"

"What would you, any of you, be willing to do?" challenged Candy. "Would you sail to the ends with the green mushroom to be getting Mario back?" They all said 'aye' in unison, to Candy's pleasure. "Agreed, then. But if you are to brave the haunted shoals at world's end, then you need a captain who has traversed those waters heself." At the top of the stairs, the door creaked open and with a thump, something began to make it's way down the stairs. Luigi stared in astonishment at what exactly did come down. Brownish fur, giant frame, massive strength and a red tie that said DK, with a faded and almost nonexistent Jr.

"Donkey Kong Jr?" Luigi whispered. It was one of Mario's two apes, now all grown up.

"Actually, it's just Donkey Kong now," the ape answered in an amazingly articulate voice, shocking everyone in the room but Candy. Giving off a grin, Donkey Kong took a bite of an apple and smiled.


	33. Chapter 33

"In order to effect a timely halt to the deteriorating conditions, a state of emergency is declared by decree of Lord Crump, duly appointed representative of his majesty, Sir Grodus. By decree according to martial law, the following postulates are hereby suspended for residents of the Koopahari: right to assembly, habeus corpus, legal counsel and jury by peers are all suspended. All persons convicted of treason, aiding a man of treason, or associating a man of treason shall be sentenced to death by firing squad."

Since Crump had Kero Zene and Klubba make that decree, four groups of fifteen had been executed. Men, women and children all trying to resist the X-Nauts.

"The Koopa and their Troopa, took the princess from her bed and the plumbers bound them in their bones. The seas be ours, and by the powers, where we will, we'll roam."

The main song of the resistance, a now outlawed tune that paid glory and homage to the venture the Super Mario Bros took to stopping Bowser.

"They've started to sing, sir," Kudgel informed Lord Crump.

"Finally," his voice boomed in exasperation. He took note, though, one small child was being tied up. It was he, who was singing the last verses.

"Yo, ho, all hands hoist the plumbers high. Yo ho, all together hoist the plumbers high. Thieves and beggers, never shall we die for it is always that we shall jump."

The shots were fired and the voices silenced.

* * *

Making her way to the waterways of the rotting cesspool of pollution, Daisy realized how similar Crocodile Isle was to Dinohattan. It, Dinohattan, Rogueport and several other cities that fell under the jurisdiction of the X-Nauts in the Koopahari were being fiercely patrolled, but she needed to find some rebels. So she silently sung a variation of the tune and as she expected caught the attention of some men. They were Kremlings, not Koopas or Toads, descended from sarcosuchus' and were much stronger than Koopas. "Dangerous tune to be whispering," a man by a sewer grate suggested. He came closer to Daisy, "particularly a woman, a woman alone." Then a giant hand grasped the man by the back of the neck and lifted him up.

"Who says she is alone?" asked Donkey Kong. "Your master is expecting us, your death would put a damper on our meeting." Kong released the man and slunk into the shadows as X-Nauts made their way on the passage above. Getting off the boat, Daisy began to follow Kong threw the sewers. No matter how bad this city was, it had the support of other cities around it and wasn't choking to death like Dinohattan was a while ago.

"How do you know Luigi?" Daisy asked Donkey Kong.

"I'm from the other dimension," Kong revealed. "Luigi's elder brother, Mario, was my master, and my father's master."

"Did you find him terrifying?" Daisy asked, sensing a bit of anger in Kong's voice.

"Yes, very," Kong revealed. "But I find him much like myself now that I look in a mirror."

Advancing to the underground retreat of Il Piantissimo, a slight tread led them back to sea level and to the lair of the Kremling pirate himself. The man was bathing in a violet steam. Daisy could not help but feel attracted to him, what woman wouldn't? His muscles were rippling and he had the face of a fashion model. She understood immediately, but even though he was a pirate, she knew that she wanted him. "Ah, Donkey Kong," he greeted the two and turned back to the steam. "I understand you have a request to make of me."

"More of a proposal, really," Kong revealed. "I have a venture underway and am in need of a ship and a crew to fulfill my obligations."

"You mean debt?" grinned Piantissimo, turning again.

"I hear you happen to have a ship and crew you do not require," Kong tried to regain some composure.

"No, because earlier this day a man tried to break into my uncle's temples and make off with these scrolls," revealed Piantissimo. "How unfortunate that ships are the only way to travel from Rogueport to here to Dinohattan." He held up the charts. "These charts navigate to the furthest gate. Wouldn't it be amazing if your adventure took you to the world beyond this one?"

"I come from the world beyond this one," Kong explained. "I have no desire to go back."

"Some other world then," Piantissimo lowered his voice and raised his hand. Out of a tank of water, his servants pulled Luigi's head up. He struggled for breath, paining Daisy. "So you come into my city and betray my hospitality. You intend voyage into Rool's Ghost Island. I cannot help but wonder why?"

"You have heard the song, I presume?" Kong asked. "Then you should know that I am of the Lockjaw Lords now and you as one of the eight should know that we must convene to the Lockjaw Court."

"The Lockjaw Court has not met in my lifetime," revealed Piantissimo. "And when it last did, my great grandfather told me it ended badly."

"But it's rule over the seas is being challenged by the X-Nauts!" protested Kong.

"I still fail to see any value," Piantissimo bluntly replied.

"You can fight," Daisy suggested. "Lockjaw Lord of Crocodile Alley, you command in the age of decline, where thieves like you were free to roam around the Koopahari waters until Dinohattan's waterways opened. Until the X-Nauts were allowed to collect on their fealties. Would you have your era end?"

"What do you want in the Ghost Island?" asked Piantissimo.

"Super Mario," answered Donkey Kong. "Allegedly, he too is one of the lords. Somehow he holds one of the needed coins for the Lockjaw Court to convene, we must go and fetch him!" Just as he said this, though, bullets fired into the building. Klubba strode into the building with a handful of X-Nauts and immediately shot one of Piantissimo's men in the head. Kong grabbed Daisy and began to flee, but first, he punched Klubba into a wall. There the soldier pretended to stay unconscious, but watched as Piantissimo grabbed Luigi.

"Odd coincidence isn't it?" asked Piantissimo. "The X-Nauts showing up right before you do and then attacking right after you get caught?"

"Yeah, coincidence, look, you wanna cut a deal with Crump?" asked Luigi, trying to get free.

"You crossed your own brother, why wouldn't you cross me?" asked Piantissimo. The words hurt Luigi, because he knew they were true, but he mustered up the strength to stay composed.

"He got in the way of what was important," Luigi maintained. Piantissimo nodded and handed over the charts. Luigi brought one of Piantissimo's men along with him and followed the trail of destruction and made his way to a clearing, where he found Donkey Kong waiting for him. "I've got the charts, a ship and a crew," he revealed to his allies.

* * *

Their ship sailed out of the harbor in twenty minutes following. Luigi looked at the garbage dump of a city in disgust, only to be joined by Donkey Kong. "You weren't supposed to be given away," Luigi told him.

"But I was, Mario sold my father and I," Kong said in contempt.

He moved away, past Daisy and climbed onto the mast, getting a better view of Crocodile Isle as the riots broke out. The city was going to burn and Crump was going to spread the ashes. Daisy turned to Candy, "Do you think Piantissimo will honour the call?"

"You feel something for him, don't you?" Candy asked her. "Some primal lust you cannot resist?"


	34. Chapter 34

A map of the known world, the Koopahari in his office, Crump examined it carefully. To the North West was the Arctic Abyss, homeland of the X-Nauts and right on the other side, the North East, was the Dark Land. It was the only territory not owned by the X-Nauts and it was where the Koopas originated from. He turned to the Dead Krock's Chest on his desk and regarded Klubba's words carefully and thought of them. "Klubba said something about the Lockjaw Lords needing coins?" he asked Kero Zene, his lieutenant simply nodded. "What is the significance of that, I wonder?"

"Does it matter?" asked Kero Zene. "Even without the Flying Krock our armada is the most powerful in the Koopahari. Where is the Lockjaw Court meeting, I wonder." He glanced across the room, King Murphy was at a desk signing orders and Deputy in Chief von Koopa had just arrived. "The Lockjaw know they face extinction, all that is left is for them to decide where they die. If she loves you as you say she does, she will choose you." Murphy tried to make eye contact with Ludwig, but he skillfully avoided it. Kudgel entered at that.

"The Krock just took out an attacking ship," he informed and led them to the harbor.

"Bloody hell," Crump exclaimed when he saw the wreckage. "There's nothing left at all." Quickly getting in a boat with Murphy, Kudgel, Kero Zene and Ludwig, Crump made his way for the Flying Krock, which was lagging in open water. Ludwig noted that the men that he was leading onto the Krock were clearly not happy to be there, they were terrified, because, of course they would be. Crump handed Kero Zene the chest and as they boarded, he came face to face with King K. Rool. He was the only man nearly as tall and as powerful as the monster that stood before them.

"Go, the lot of you!" requested Rool. "And take that with you! I will not have that infernal thing on my ship!"

"You will!" Crump ordered. "This ship orders by company directives."

"The Krock sails as it's kaptain commands," Rool maintained.

"And it's captain sails how I command!" Crump gained the upper hand. At that, Murphy made his way forth.

"Did you even give the ship a chance to surrender?" he asked.

"No," Rool bluntly said, his mere demeanor terrifying everyone, even Ludwig, who had clearly seen what his father became.

"My daughter could have been on that ship!" cried Murphy.

"Your daughter was on a ship, a ship that is now gone!" laughed Rool. Murphy stepped back and nearly fell, but was caught by Ludwig.

"We need prisoners to interrogate," revealed Crump.

"I was exterminating your enemies," Rool was furious then as he saw Murphy make his way for a cabin. "STOP HIM!" Running into the cabin, he saw Murphy pick up a knife and open the Dead Krock's Chest, prepared to stab it. Crump grabbed Murphy to try and stop him, but the positioning was awkward and despite his strength, could not maintain a good grip.

"My daughter is dead? Did you know?" Murphy asked Ludwig, who too was pained by Rool's stark revelation.

"Let him go," Rool commanded.

"I WILL KILL YOU!" cried Murphy, but Rool, unfazed, made his way forth.

"When I carved that out and formed this whole damned venture," Rool indicated the ship and his crew. "There was a clause. If you stab that heart, yours will take it's place. Can you handle commandeering this ship looking like me? Forced to do what I do?" Crump stealthily grabbed the heart and placed it back in the chest, knowing he had no power over what would happen next. "Tell me King Murphy, do you fear death?" Ludwig lowered his head, and only heard the pained screams of the old man as he breathed his last.


	35. Chapter 35

It was dusk as they rode the ship North. They were closer to the Arctic Abyss now, but somewhere in between the line that separated it from the Dark Land. Everyone but Kong was shivering, for his fur protected him. Trying to figure out the strange maps and poems on it, Luigi turned to Kong, who he had discovered to be quite an articulate and intelligent ape, he read the poem, it was of a green flash, and asked for an interpretation. "When that ship you placed my father and I in set sail, the vortex that sunk or ship flashed green for a second, I swear," Kong revealed. "It is a signal of resurrection for next thing I knew, I was on an island with my father and we fought against the Kremlings. Not the humanoid ones we meet, but the ones akin to those on Rool's ship, decaying of de-evolution and slowly transforming into crocodilian monsters. The problem isn't getting to the land of the dead, it's getting back."

Luigi leaned forward, on the arms of the ship's rails and sighed as the snowflakes over encumbered him and then, in the distance, he noticed a white line of mist that seemingly stretched to infinity. "Kong, ahead!" Luigi revealed.

"We're good and lost now," Kong confirmed. "Only place we can find Mario." They let the ship gain speed, and as they gained speed, the water's rushing sound only increased... but then as they looked over, they saw themselves tip over a seemingly endless waterfall. Candy began an incantation among the deafening noise of the water and as the ship toppled down, it plummeted into nowhere.

* * *

The white hot sun burned in the cloudless blue sky, casting it's hard gaze upon the Starshroom Enterprise. Mario had spent months in this hellhole, having nothing to do but repair the ship. Somehow he had repaired it. This place, it had let his strength multiply by ten. He was at least as strong as a Koopaling by now. Practicing fencing with imaginary figments of his mind, he had become skilled in swordplay. Best of all, he had learned how to cast fire from his hands after eating the one flower in the whole barren wasteland. Pulling the Starshroom with a rope, inch by inch, day by day, Mario's muscles were rippling. Either that, or he was imagining everything.

He tried to assess the situation. Bowser's father had made a deal with Rool but it had not lived up to his expectations and so he sent Bowser to Dinohattan. Rool forgave the father, but not the debt. He passed the debt on to Bowser and now for some reason, Bowser's debt had passed on to him. Turning around, Mario noticed the several white pebbles transform into white squids. "What the hell?" Mario wondered out loud. They picked up the ship and began to carry it in the opposite direction for him. All he could do was follow. It led him to white sand and then, they took the ship out to water.

Then he noticed a group of adventurers approaching him. "Slap me thrice and hand me to my momma! It's Mario!" shouted the one who looked like Dane Toad. They were all smiling. Toad went and hugged Mario.

"Toad," Mario addressed him. "I expect you can account for your actions."

"What?" asked Toad.

"There's been a lack of discipline on the Starshroom Enterprise," Mario told him. They all recognized the plumber was clearly going insane.

"You're in Rool's Ghost Island, Mario," Toad revealed to him.

"I know that, but I don't know where I'm going," Mario responded back.

"Super Mario," Donkey Kong addressed his former master. Mario turned and curiously regarded the gorilla.

"Ah, Junior!" he greeted the ape. "It's been too long!"

"Yes, Brooklyn, remember?" Donkey Kong asked. "My father kidnapped your girlfriend and you in a rage sold us to a cruel animal owner and we got lost in a vortex that took us to this dimension?"

"I did not!" Mario maintained. "Oh, Candy! Can you add more delirium to my delirium?"

"You think we're hallucinations?" Luigi asked.

"I'm looking at an upright talking ape, even for this world that's crazy!" Mario laughed. "Wait, where'd my squids go? So tell me Luigi, are you willing to listen to reason now or are you still too busy saving your distressed damsel like you've been the whole time! I thought that blood mattered to you... but you went off and had her chain me as the Puftoss arrived!"

"This is real," Daisy told him. "We're here."

"Okay, then, tell me, is this magic real?" Mario flicked his fingers to reveal the fireball. The all saw it, astonished.

"Ah, the place is transforming him into his destiny," Candy exclaimed. "Only your transformation is not as quick as Koopa's was. yours is a subtle one."

"Okay then, assuming you all are real, I'll believe this all once I get out of Ghost Island and into the real world!" Mario bargained. "But, given that I have a ship, isn't it all you who are in need of rescue?"

"Mario, listen," Luigi tried to reason with his brother. "Crump has Rool's heart and is taking over the seas. The Lockjaw Court has summoned and you are one of their lords!"

"I don't know what any of that means!" Mario laughed.

"Why should I sail with any of you?" Mario asked. "My own brother tried to kill me!" The words hurt Luigi, but he tried to hide the pain, he was fighting for family, but Mario noticed that pained glare. "Fine," he said, not able to see his brother's pain, despite all that happened in between them. "Let's go."


	36. Chapter 36

They had set sail fairly quickly afterwards. Larry and Lemmy quickly got up to their shenanigans as Mario started to argue with Donkey Kong. Luigi, however, was looking only for Daisy. "Why do they all say I tried to kill my own brother?" Luigi asked her. They had not been talking ever since the Puftoss took Mario and the Starshroom Enterprise to the Ghost Island. Luigi did not know why, it was almost as if something, a wedge, had come in between them. When she did not respond, he put his hand on her's and she turned to him.

She had been crying, but was now relieved. "He's back now, forget about it." He did not dispute that point and Daisy realized that he was well aware that he knew she was the one who executed Mario. "Luigi, I had no choice!"

"I love you, and that's why they say I killed him," Luigi sighed, the blunt understanding was hard on him. Yet his brother had still forgiven him when he had just come to a random conclusion that Mario had simply never opted to continue the search for Rosalina and Bullet Bill.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Luigi asked.

"I couldn't let you bear the burden," Daisy reasoned.

"But I bore - I'm wearing the damn shawl now!" Luigi exclaimed. "You make your choices alone, how can I trust you?" The words stung Daisy, because she knew that he could not. He looked away from her and new she had left is periphery.

* * *

Mario and Donkey Kong had split the ship between themselves, the gorilla got the starboard side and Mario got the port side. Lemmy on the other hand was readying a fishing pole, seeing if the waters contained anything. Casting it down, he shrieked when he saw a pale ghost. He had heard of them in stories, Boos. The more close to death they got, the smaller and more rotund they also became. He let out a cry as more and more Boos began to go, the entire crew was looking down the sides by this time. The more they advanced, the more humanoid the Boos became. "They should be in the care of King K. Rool," Candy informed the crew. "He was charged that by the goddess Kalypso, to ferry those who died at sea to the afterlife and then come ashore every ten years. He was to be a great captain, but he is now a monster."

"So he wasn't all crocodilian?" Mario asked her.

"No," she confirmed. "Once he was like all Kremlings, looked like you and I, human."

"They won't hurt us," Mario asked. "Right?"

"Not these Boos," Candy confirmed.

"Look!" shouted. "My father! We must be back!" Mario looked over the railing and saw it, her father was sailing on a longboat with the more humanoid Boos. He seemed a bit pale, but overall had not changed enough yet. He had not been dead long enough.

"Daisy, we aren't back," Mario told her.

In the boat, Murphy looked up at the Starshroom Enterprise and noticed Daisy. "Are you dead?" he asked. "It's all right, my girl. I didn't understand at first, but it's all right." He looked back down. "There was an important chest, an angry monster and a heart. Stab the heart, sail under the mast forever." He looked away again as both Mario and Luigi made note of the dead king's words. "I hope your end was more peaceful than mine, my dear girl." With that, he began to transform, into the typical Boo and fly away.

"We must escape tonight or risk damning waters!" Candy suddenly decreed. Luigi recited the poem, trying to figure it all out.

"The Green Mushroom!" he shouted to himself. "A green flash will occur in the Green Mushroom constellation at sunset but since sunsets don't rise we must use our shared momentum to tilt the ship upside down!" He began running from starboard to port and the crew joined in. Sure enough, the ship was rocking in the face of the constellation. The ship began to swell with water, and then completely rocked over. Waves filled the sails and the ship continued, just as a flash of green on the horizon brought them back to friendly seas. They all observed the situation and in a belated cheer, happily came to the conclusion that they were back.

Then, as the sun rose, everybody cheered and pulled their pistols out, pointing them at each other. It was a Mexican standoff. Luigi pointed it at Donkey Kong, Kong at Mario, Daisy at Mario and Toad at Kong. Then they all pulled out second pistols to point at somebody else. The absurdity of the whole situation, they could not help but grin. They all laughed for a second, lowed their pistols and then, just as abruptly as the moment stopped, they once again raised their pistols. "The Lockjaw Court is convening, Mario, you and I are going," Kong ordered.

"If I remember, I'm your master," Mario retorted.

"Mario, they're gathering to fight Crump!" Daisy protested.

"You're not running brother!" Luigi threatened.

"Time passed by differently there, Luigi!" Mario informed him. "It felt like I was on that island for months upon months! I think I deserve to finally go home to Pauline!"

"If we don't stand together," Kong informed his former master. "Crump will use his shine sprites to hunt us all down."

"I'm not going back to that island!" Mario growled as they once again lowered their pistols.


	37. Chapter 37

While sailing, they had quickly identified themselves as being in the Northern Kremisphere, close to Dark Land. They had found an island, which Luigi checked out on the charts. "There's a fresh water spring on this island where we can resupply," he suggested. They needed it, during his stay at Ghost Island, Mario had emptied the water and rum barrels. He did get thirsty after all.

"Good, you guys go out and I'll maintain the ship," Mario offered.

"I'm not leaving the ship in your command!" Donkey Kong refuted.

"I'm hell as sure not leaving it in your command!" Mario shot back.

"Then you both go and leave it in my command!" Luigi claimed. It seemed a fair enough deal and Mario, Donkey Kong, Larry and Lemmy boarded the island and inspected it. There they were met by a horrifying and gruesome sight, the dead Puftoss. From what Mario could tell, it had been abandoned, it's purpose served, Rool no longer needed it. Maybe he got another one? Unlikely, Mario figured, but he did not doubt that it was not beyond Rool's ability to conjure another one up. After all, teleportation and massive strength seemed to be the least of the kremling's abilities.

Mario stared into the eye of the beast and his reflection stared back. He noticed Kong come up from behind him. "When you won my father and I in that gambling game, it was shortly after the girl got her neck-scar, right?" Kong asked and Mario turned to face him. "You profited off of us, sending us to TV deals and all. You made so much money off of us, yet all I remember is being sold because my father could not handle being mistreated. You should've treated us better, Mario."

"I should've, but what happened with the girl sent me to a dark place," Mario told him. "I get it, I didn't treat you well but I sure as Hell never abused you."

"Yeah, but you gave us away to an abusive slave owner God knows where and sent us off by boat during the middle of a storm, I'd say you were wanting us dead," Kong claimed. "The world used to be a bigger place and I used to have a smaller mind. Getting teleported here during that vortex and coming across Candy was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"I just want to go home," Mario sighed.

"How many years have passed?" Kong asked. "You look a man forty, so I would say about three or four since that storm sucked me up."

"That's sad commentary, in and of itself," was all Mario could say. "So this Lockjaw Court claims we have coins that'll prove us as lords? I've got a lucky penny on me."

"And so do I," Kong claimed. "I stole it from you before we went off. This court's meeting in Dark Land, where Bowser is from. Maybe you'll finally hail yourself some answers." They made their way to the spring where they found a dead body inside, Kong dipped a banana in the water to see if it burned. "Venomous water... I suspect your brother may have betrayed us again."

"What?" Mario asked. Kong only pointed to the waters, where the Starshroom Enterprise was right next to the Empress, Il Piantissimo's fighting ship. As expected Piantissimo's men, guns loaded, made their way to the crew on the island and brought them back up to the ships. The landing party climbed back on the ship only to see Piantissimo's men having had taken over, two pirates held Daisy by the arms. Kong quickly recognized Piantissimo. "Well, well, mate," he greeted the pirate. "Meeting you here is a remarkable, if I do say myself, coincidence."

"Fortune smiles upon me," Piantissimo replied.

Luigi strode up to see Daisy held by the men. "She isn't part of this bargain, release her," he ordered, allowing his brother to see his deception.

"What bargain is that?" Mario growled.

"You heard him, release her," Piantissimo told his men.

"What happened?" Mario asked Toad.

"Your brother led a mutiny against you," was the response.

"Why didn't you tell me you were planning this?" Daisy asked.

"It was my burden to bear," Luigi smirked. "I'm sorry, Daisy. As well as it may have seemed the first time round, this second trip has told me one thing, we would never work, you and I." Daisy was astonished, in a single line, Luigi just broke up with her. It was all right to her, though, she had betrayed him and broken his heart. She got over it in an instant. "I need the Starshroom Enterprise," Luigi told Piantissimo, who made his way over to Mario.

"Well, plumber, there's a man who wants to meet with you," Piantissimo informed him and grabbed Mario's arm. "Let's see if you survive."

* * *

Then a third ship, the Endeavor, made it's way forth. Piantissimo had his men have Mario board that ship, separating him from the pack. Escorted into a fancy room, fancier than Mario himself had ever seen before, he was brought forth before the giant of man, Lord Crump. "Remarkable," Crump noted Mario. "You inherited a heavy debt. I'll assume it's paid and tell you the heart isn't here. Toadsworth the Steward bears a brand on his hand, when we went to war with the Toed Sthuuls, I and he were soldiers. I branded him with a bullet and he did the same. It's what started the chain of events that led you to I here."

"I don't know how I held a debt to Rool, but it's settled, however I had it," Mario affirmed.

"That debt was to be settled with your death, but you my friend, are alive," Crump informed. "My people, Mario, are Kremlings. We descended from crocodiles but we come from the Arctic Abyss. It is the coldest and most desolate place in this world ever imaginable. Kind of like your world's Antarctica. My people love spices, linen and cottons... only so long as it arrives on time. My people are content to be figures in a ledger, a delivery order. You know I am right, Mario. So I have a proposition for you, in exchange for a shine sprite to let you back to Brooklyn, tell me all about the Lockjaw Court."

"I think I'd prefer to maintain my monopoly on that status," Mario tried to gain equal footing. If it was revealed that he knew nothing, he knew that this Crump would toss him off the ship.

"Would you like to enjoy a bullet to the head?" Crump asked him. To that, Mario opened up his palm to reveal the fireball he had just conjured.

"Or how abut this," Mario suggested. "You deliver me to the Lockjaw Court?"


	38. Chapter 38

Luigi, Daisy and Donkey Kong were shackled by Piantissimo's men. He had them release the shackles on Daisy and just subdue her manually. That was when Kudgel arrived with his company men to take over the ship. "My men will be crew enough," Piantissimo suggested.

"Company ship, company crew," Kudgel responded, revealing the Starshroom's new status.

"You said the Enterprise would be mine!" Luigi protested.

"For a short time, it was!" laughed Kudgel and he had an X-Naut knock out Luigi. The plumber was hauled away.

"Wait, are you going to dupe me, now? Crump said the Enterprise would be mine!" Piantissimo told Kudgel.

"For a short time, it was!" laughed Kudgel. Piantissimo looked around, Kudgel's sailors far outnumbered his men. Just like Kudgel just duped Luigi, he had similarily been tricked. Now the only ship that could fight the Flying Krock was in the possession of the X-Nauts. Piantissimo nodded for Kudgel, who saluted back, and left back for his ship with his men.

Donkey Kong then made his way up to Piantissimo. "It appears you've lost what honour I've heard you were to possess."

"No loss of honour in losing, ape," Piantissimo answered. "But going to the winning side, that's business."

"But you're not on the winning side, because the winning side has Kalypso," Donkey Kong hung the sweets in front of the baby's mouth. Much like he expected, Piantissimo's eyes darted towards Daisy and they were filled with something primal.

"Kalypso? Says you," Piantissimo tried to deny Kong's possession of a demigod. "She is just an old Kremling legend, the crocodile goddess of the sea with violet hair? I doubt it."

"Well, not the goddess herself," Donkey Kong explained. "But she is bound in human form, sealed there. From what I have heard, with favor of hers, human or God, a lucky sailor will still get lucky." He exchanged a glance with the pirate. "I'm proposing that we give you the girl in exchange for you convening at the Lockjaw Court to free the spirit of Kalypso, the Kremling Queen." Daisy listened in, the price seemed fair to her.

"Done," she agreed.

"Then it is settled," Piantissimo nodded, smirking. He went over to Daisy and bowed down. "I am aware, I must earn your favour." Daisy was unaware what the plan was and realized that she would just have to go along with it. She thought about all of it for a minute, Ludwig and Luigi.

* * *

"You can keep Donkey Kong," bartered Mario. "The giant ape isn't at all fortunate that I tried to send him back to his natural habitat. Claims I was sending him t'some cruel owner or somefink." Crump noted that suspicion in his eyes. "Y'know, at first I thought, from pictures I'd seen of you, that you were taller than Rool, but no, he's the taller one."

"What becomes of your brother and the princess?" asked Crump.

"What's it to you?" Mario asked back.

"Her crystal is quite valuable," Crump responded.

"The rest and the Starshroom are mine," negotiated Mario. "Get your men off." Crump quickly sent the signal, ordering Kudgel and his men to return.

"Funny thing is, Mario, you should've kept Toadsworth's compass on good watch," Crump pulled out the compass himself. "It points to the thing I want most."

"Which is the location of the Lockjaw Court?" Mario figured.

"No," Crump bluntly answered.

"Ohhhh," Mario understood. "It's me... dead."

"So if I kill you and then what I want second most becomes what I want most," Crump figured, "I can make my way to the Lockjaw Court."

"True, but think about it, it's in Dark Land, from what your maps tell us, that's pretty fortified," Mario used the charts to his advantage. "Your nation Nautical is in the Arctic Abyss, not even all of it's firepower could get you in."

"And you can get me in?" scoffed Crump.

"I'm a plumber buddy, this is just a larger valve," Mario laughed back. Mario held out his hand, but Crump hesitated, prompting Mario to reach forth and grab it himself. Seeing the Empress leaving and the Enterprise still in sight, Mario decided to put some of his newfound powers to good use. Wrapping a rope around a cannon's lighter wheel, and then lighting it with his fire, Mario catapulted himself across to the Enterprise. Smashing into the Enterprise's sail, trashing some barrels and scattering gunpowder, unhurt, Mario stood on the rail. Kong came out to see the ruckus. "Did you miss me?" asked Mario, in disgust, Kong turned away.

* * *

Bringing Daisy aboard his ship, Piantissimo made sure to be as courteous and respectful as possible. Leading her to his cabin, she was amazed and impressed by the hanging silks and pillows, which was all lit by candlelight. It was everything a woman would want, or being from Earth, what she had grown up wanting for a man to give her. When she turned to Piantissimo, he looked back at her with nothing but admiration. She noted that it felt quite good to be treated this way, as not even Ludwig had been able to make her feel like a Goddess. He offered her wine, and she gladly accepted. "I didn't think you would do this," Daisy told him.

"No other treatment would be worthy of you," he told her. "Kalypso," he whispered lightly afterwards, though she did not hear it. "I imagine you do not fancy your real name, but it is what we call you. I'm sorry, I apologize on behalf of those who were previous to me, of your imprisonment." He got down on his knees and kissed her hand. Daisy did not know what the apology was for, she was quite confused, but also very attracted to Piantissimo.

"Goddess," Daisy breathed, confirming that this man was treating her like a deity.

"You are bound in this form," Piantissimo said, and he rose to his feet again to look her square in the eye. "But you should never be anything other than what you are, and what your heart desires. All men are drawn to the sea, as am I and so I offer my desires."

"I would have your gifts," Daisy said and when he leaned in, she accepted his kiss but just as she did, the ringing sound of cannon fire was heard and the next thing she knew, Piantissimo was sprawled on the ground next to her, a gaping hole in her ship. He lay, bloody, with a shard of wood sticking through his chest. His mouth was bleeding as life began to drain out.

He handed her a coin, a Canadian penny if she knew well enough. The crystal on her neck rung into her mind and as the pirate died, she knew what this Multiversal property was. It was a coin needed to free the real Kalypso, a coin that made her a Lord of the Lockjaw Court. Her crystal, it had kept her aging at the speed of Earth, not the Koopahari, had been dormant since Crump arrived. She should've easily been able to defeat the X-Nauts. Stepping up to the deck, she saw bodies strewn everywhere. It was quite clear that whatever deal Piantissimo had made with Kudgel did not matter to Rool as the Flying Krock came up beside it. Then the monstrous soldiers of Rool came forth, capturing prisoners where they could find, including Daisy. As she made her way up the Krock, she noticed a very familiar figure surveying the damage: Ludwig.

"Ludwig!" she shouted out, he noticed her there.

"Daisy!" he cried and they ran to each other, embracing with a kiss. "I thought you were dead!" Their embrace was broken quickly as Rool made his way forth.

"Who is the captain?" he wondered aloud. "Dead? Well, who is this?" He made his way to Daisy. "Not a Kremling? A Koopa... take them to the brig!" Ludwig made sure to accompany Daisy as they made their way forth. As soon as they made their way to the brig, though, they were separated. Not knowing what to do, Daisy made her way around. Then she came across a woman. She seemed young, but she was like the rest of the crew, crocodilian. Her skin was green, but that was about it, really, she had not mutated that far. Something about her seemed familiar and then Daisy observed and the woman started talking.

"My uncle, Bill," she told Daisy. This woman's mind was cracked by servitude to Rool. "He was destroyed, turned primordial and sent into the ship's engine. That way he serves forever. Won't happen to me, though, my brother Luigi'll be back. He told me he'd be back." Then it all hit together. This was Luigi's sister, somehow in the servitude of King K. Rool. This was why Luigi was angry at Mario, they had been letting their own sister rot in the dungeons of Rool. It was, all too strange. Mario and Luigi were introduced to this world through her, not some sister that they never mentioned. Walking away with horror and pity.

* * *

Mario walked down to the brig of the Enterprise, which was where Luigi had been hanging out the entire time. "Ever since you got off of Rool's ship, you've been angry at me, why?" Mario demanded to know. "You know me. You know almost everything I've done yet for some reason, citing something our missing father has done, your angry at me?"

"You're alarmed," Luigi noted. "Yeah, I'm pissed off at you. Why did you stop the search for Rosalina?"

"That's an odd thing to bring up," Mario observed. "I gave up the search because I got a message: Careful or your brother's time will come faster than it should - signed KCI. Luigi I gave up that search because of you... you know this."

"And then the ape came into the picture," Luigi breathed.

"And that leads us to meeting Daisy and entering this entire goddamned mess," Mario put him up to speed.

"Mario you inherited Bowser's debt, how? You are gaining powers like Bowser had, how?" Luigi asked aggressively. "You never thought that we could be involved in this deeper than you thought. You know, if you looked closer, you would've realized that Rosalina was taken into an underground subway tunnel. With her in that tunnel was our father and our Uncle Bill. That tunnel was the same tunnel that Iggy and Spike took Daisy too."

"How do you know this?" Mario asked, the anger rising within him.

"Maybe because," Luigi, his voice equally angry. "Off camera to you and the audience of my head, I had a conversation with Rosalina. In this conversation her failing memory only give me a few clues but it was enough to deduce that she went and was given to Rool as a member of his crew willingly!"

"What?" Mario asked, falling to the ground in terror. "No." Then in a fury, he got up and grabbed Luigi by the collar, using his enhanced strength to easily pick up his brother. "You're lying you goddamned liar! Why can't anyone tell me the goddamned truth!" Mario threw Luigi on the ground and in his rage, began to walk away, walk out of the brig.

"I'm losing her Mario," came Luigi's pained groan. The pain within his brother's voice made Mario stop. "I'm losing Daisy and every step I take to rescuing Rosalina I take a step away from Daisy. I don't even think we love each other anymore and now, I've even alienated myself from you."

"Luigi, you know Daisy got us involved in all of this," Mario said. "The day she broke those plates..." He left the room, letting Luigi's livid imagination finish the sentence... but he did not know that his brother had once again duped him. Luigi had swiped Toadsworth's compass from his pocket and jumped out the ship, determined to find and free their sister.

* * *

Amid the calm seas, the Krock towed the Empress and in it's brig, Daisy sat, trying to wonder how to work out her own situation... but then, unexpectedly, Ludwig came to her cell. Opening it, he quickly gave the order, "Come, quickly and quietly." She followed him, but left the cell door open. There Rosalina stood, looking at it with her once fragile and now gone mind. Like rats on a line, Daisy realized Ludwig was towing the Empress' crew back to their ship, a ship that Daisy was now the captain of. As she was about to go, Daisy told Ludwig, "Come with us." He wanted to, but knew that he could not.

"Who goes there?" it was Rosalina's voice.

"GO!" begged Ludwig. She did not, the look on her face was hurt, she did not want to let him go. "Our destinies," Ludwig stated. "Have been entwined, but you belong with Luigi, not me." He gave in, kissed her, cut the line and shoved her away. He turned around to face Rosalina. "Back to your station."

"Nobody leaves the ship," her voice cracked. "Part of the crew, part of the ship." Ludwig stared at her, taking pity. Then she shouted: "PRISONER ESCAPE!" As the monstrous crewmen began to round up, Ludwig pulled out his pistol and cut the tow, letting the Empress sail free. Turning around to see Daisy safe, as soon as he turned back, Ludwig met a sword through his chest by way of Rosalina. He collapsed to the deck and Rosalina stood over him, unaware of what she had done.

"THE DEPUTY CHIEF'S DEAD!" cheered all the crewmen, but their cheers were silenced as Rool made his way forth. Crewmen raced away as Rool made his way to the now near dead Ludwig.

"Tell me, Deputy in Chief Ludwig von Koopa," hissed King K. Rool. "Do you fear Kamek?" In a final act of defiance, Ludwig refused to give into the temptation of an extended life and thrust his sword forth through Rool's shoulder. He was unhurt, unfazed and unaffected. "I'll take that as a no." He placed his hand on Ludwig's mouth, and stopped his breathing.


	39. Chapter 39

"When word came in that you and Kong were the new lords of the Lockjaw Court, we were all surprised," Toad told Mario. "It's in Dark Land, on Lockjaw Island."

"Unimaginative names," Mario remarked. They sailed towards a distant light and stepped into a very shadowy place, a Dark Land. The city was dimly lit up, barely able to be seen and it was bright day. The clouds of smog and pollution hid everything. Moored around the city were ships, all over the place. "I've never seen so many ships outside of New York's harbors. Go get Luigi."

"Mario, he's gone, he wasn't in the brig or anywhere else in the ship," Toad told him. Mario spun around, astonished.

"He's gone to meet Rool."

* * *

Rool had gained Crump's call and had begrudgingly made his way for the man's ship. When the man got his heart, Rool felt some sort of compulsion to go to Dinohattan. There he met Crump and found his own life threatened, he found himself blackmailed into working for the X-Nauts of Nautical, the nation of the Arctic Abyss. "I cannot be summoned like a mongrel!" Rool roared.

"Well today you'll have to," Crump retorted. The two were of similar height, and it was evident that neither feared the other. "Anyways, I believe you know my guest." Crump pointed to, sitting on a chair, Luigi. He held up a teacup and saucer and nodded at Rool.

"Come to join my crew again?" taunted Rool.

"A crew, maybe yours, maybe his, maybe whomevers, y'know?" Luigi laughed. "I believe if my brother knew I was coming here, he'd give regards."

"Mario?" Rool asked, his voice with curiosity.

"Yeah, we pulled him off your Ghost Island," Luigi revealed. This sparked definite anger in Rool's face. Yet the monster did not let it out on Luigi, but turned to Crump.

"What else have ye kept from me?" he asked in rage.

"Umm, a person called Kalypso?" tried Crump. Rool tried to give a civilized and normal response, but what came out was full of anger and rage.

"Not a person!" he roared. "A heathen God! Who delights in tormenting men through their wildest dreams. The sea made sure she is gone..."

"The sea?" Luigi laughed.

"I AM the sea, boy," Rool sternly said.

"The Lockjaw Court intends to release her," Luigi told him.

"NO!" Rool roared. "The first Court promised to forever keep her imprisoned. That was the agreement!"

"Agreement?" asked Crump.

"Yes," Rool hissed. "I told them how to bind her, for her lack of trustworthiness gave me no choice."

It all snapped together for Luigi. "You loved her and then you betrayed her."

"SHE pretended to love ME!" the rage was building up in Rool. "SHE betrayed ME!" Rool hurled the table out of his way, slapped Luigi's teacup and saucer and picked him up by the neck. "Do not test me!" With that he left Luigi on the ground, the plumber clutching his neck. When Luigi could talk, he turned to Crump.

"I'm sure he's ended my uncle," he started. "But I want my sister free and as for you Crump, I want you out of Dinohattan because it's Daisy's dominion."

"Steep price, Luigi, I want a fair payment," bargained Crump.

"That is the death of Kalypso," revealed Rool. Crump simply nodded.

"She's on the Enterprise," Luigi pulled out the compass. "I'm sure you know how to get there now."

* * *

Mario and Kong entered the chamber, it was not a very wide room, but it was open, there were several floors visible, each one getting more spacious. However,a ll those floors seemed to serve a different purpose as Mario could tell he saw a library. Mario took a seat at the table, while Kong went to the very end of the table. Mario looked around, Kong was the only non-humanoid, well, maybe the Shy Guy was not human, but he probably was. "While we do not know who issued summons," started Kong. "I would like for us all to take out our special coins." They all did so, even Mario, who took the lucky penny out of his workbelt, and placed it in a bowl.

"Where's Il Piantissimo?" asked a lord.

"Dead," came the answer. Mario looked, it was Daisy. "Before his death, he named me the new Lockjaw Lord."

"Wow, they're just giving the title away now," remarked a lord. "By whose hand did Piantissimo perish?"

"King K. Rool," answered Daisy, with Ludwig's death causing her to hate the name more than ever. "He is leading Crump here, now."

"With Rool against us there is no hope!" a lord claimed. Disarray began to break among the pirates, but Kong quickly settled it.

"It is not of any matter how they managed to locate us, but what is important is what we shall do," Kong assured. "We fight for good men have already given their lives in the fight against Rool. Of course they cannot penetrate Dark Land, but the idea is, we free Kalypso and send her to aid us in stopping King K. Rool. We tamed the seas for ourselves, but King K. Rool is the sea. We can never own it, but we can let it return to running wild. Let it return to challenge all of us and similarly vex us with it's power. We must free Kalypso." Chaos once again broke out, the lords began arguing on what to do and how to do it. This time, their arguing could not be silenced and instead instigating a full scale brawl.

* * *

In the brig, Candy lay in her cell. She had willingly gone there, for protection, she had given the claim. She opened her locket and played the sweet tune that she had grown to love, but open shutting the locket, it kept on playing. Looking to the shadows beyond her bars, she saw Rool emerge, the monstrosity of a man he was, he still kept the locket. "My sweet captain...," she greeted. "You've come for me at last. Long ago I expected you, but now, it has been torture. Trapped and confined in a single form for oh so long." Rool did not say anything. "Cut off from what I love." His crocodilian face twitched. "Cut off from you."

"No," he simply said. "Ten years I ferried your souls to the afterlife. For ten years I watched myself change and waste away, for ten years I waited and then when I could finally be with you, you were not there."

"It was my nature," Candy protested. "Would you love me if I were anything but my nature?"

"I do not love you," he admitted. The words clearly stung her and Rool let out a monstrous smile, to let her know he was in command.

"Many things you were, King K. Rool...," Candy quietly said. "But you were never cruel... with your power over the oceans, you have corrupted yourself... and you hid away what should always have been mine." She reached through the bars to touch his chest and very quickly, his monstrous features were erased and there stood the original King K. Rool. A bearded man with the look of kindness, a look that could harm nobody, a look that could woo a deity. "I would be free and I would give you my heart... if only you had a heart to give back." She removed her hand from his chest and he quickly changed back, grabbing her by the neck. "Why did you come?" she choked to get out. He let go of her and teleported inside. He looked out the window to the meeting place of the Lockjaw Court. "They will learn," Candy promised. "How cruel I can be. What of yur fate, King K. Rool?"

"My heart will always belong to you," he bluntly stated, but not out of love, out of fact. With that, he vanished, teleporting himself elsewhere.

* * *

The Lockjaw Court's brawl did not seem like it would stop, forcing Kong to do the least civil thing possible. Jump up on the table and bang his hands on his chest. Very quickly, everybody stopped to the booming noise. "The first Lockjaw Court imprisoned Kalypso, this one will free her. We shall bear the brunt of her boons to defeat the King K. Rool," he promised. It was an appealing promise. "This is an act of war, and I have read the Lockjaw Code. War can only be declared by a Lockjaw Monarch." Cries of protest came out. "I made that up did I?" laughed Kong. "Well, then, to affirm, I summon the Kerog of Dark Land! Kerog Croacus the First!" Mario had, during the brawl, taken Kong's end seat... but addition of this new player simply made him slump his head to the table. He was tired, but he stood up and started to think. Abbreviating Kerog Croacus the First got KCI, the signature on the letter he was given. Then as if on cue, Mario heard the familiar voice.

"You're in my way, boy," the Kerog told him and Mario, stunned, turned around. It was his father. There was no mistake, either the Kerog stole his father's face or his father was the Kerog of Dark Land. Stunned, Mario staggered backwards and just looked in awe. Two aides carrying a locked manuscript dropped it on the table, allowing the Kerog to open it. Opening it and looking through it silently he turned to the crowd. "The ape is right." He looked over, observantly.

"There hasn't been a Monarch since the first Lockjaw Court!" claimed a Lord, Don Pianta. "Every time the vote happened everybody votes for themselves!"

"I call for a vote," Mario solemnly declared, unable to take his eyes off of the Kerog. As expected, they all voted for themselves. Pianta for Pianta, Kong for Kong, Daisy for Daisy but then came Mario's turn. "I vote for Daisy, the new Lockjaw Queen." As expected, chaos began to run up and about with the lords being unable to accept Princess Daisy as the new Lockjaw Queen. Then came the unfortunate aide who said "screw the law". The Kerog's pistol fired once into the man's forehead, silencing everybody. He looked around stern, the decision was made.

"What say you Queen?" asked the Kerog. "Will you run like your mother, or will you fight?"

"Prepare every vessel!" declared Daisy. The lords all stood up and accepted the prospect of war, happy as could be and all patting each other on the back. Mario closed his eyes and turned his back to the proceedings, he made his way to the back of the room, trying to comprehend everything that was going on. How many years had passed by on Earth? Had Pauline moved on?

"There's more beneath the waterline here than your letting on," it was the Kerog. He looked Mario dead in the eye and the plumber stared back, confounded. "You were an honest boy Mario. I don't know why you stumbled back into our world."

"Who are you?" Mario asked. "The visage of a dead man?"

"Mario -," the Kerog tried to put his hand on Mario's shoulder, but the plumber staggered back.

"You are King Bowser Koopa's father, yet you look like mine," Mario gasped, exasperated.

"I am your father," Kerog Croacus the First told him.

"How?" Mario asked and the Kerog led him into a separate room and sat him down.

"Mario, way back when, the Koopahari was not the place it was today," the Kerog told him. "I was a part of the army and I was skilled, exceptional. General Koopa they all chanted, it was only a matter of time before General Koopa became Kerog. However before I could I fell in love with a Gatekeeper. She had a crystal, one that could let us teleport between worlds and she did not want to stay in this one. From Dinohattan to Nautical to the Toed Sthuul we were engaged in a World War not different from what happened in the other world. If she left, the other Gatekeepers promised to follow and kill her. I could not let that happen and so I abandoned my post and followed her to Brooklyn."

"Your lying!" Mario maintained.

"My brother, William, came with us, but we made deals with King K. Rool before we left to make sure we could not be traced," the Kerog continued his tale. "From me Rool either wanted me or a child of mine, for William, well, he just wanted him. In Brooklyn I took the name Mr. Segale and began working as a plumber, a job I though beneath me once, but above me at that point. I wasn't with you for very long but I tried to instill great values in you, Mario. When your mother was pregnant with you, after your birth, we were awakened by your crying. Another child, that looked exactly like you was with you in your crib. It was our child, yet it was not. We named him Morton, I doubt you remember him as your brother, though. Then Luigi was born and Rosalina after him. I planned to forfeit Morton to Rool because he was different, cold and cruel I mean."

"I'm not buying any of this!" Mario yelled. "I'm not a Koopa, I'm a human!"

"No, you're not," Kerog denied. "I gave up Morton to Rool and hoped the kaptain would not notice... but one day in 1991, your mother sensed another gatekeeper enter through a hardly ever used portal. I went down there to confront her and she nearly killed us both. That gatekeeper was Lockjaw Queen Daisy's mother. Unfortunately the ripples had been felt by Rool and he reached through and brought me, Bill and Rosalina back. He gave me back Morton, claiming the child was a dupe. Yet the psychological damage to Morton had been done. You were getting close to finding the dimension Mario, so after I became Kerog I left you that note and made you back off. You see, entering this world will do to you what it did to King... turn you into a monster."

"I'm already turning," Mario told him and snapped his fingers to show the fireball. "I'm stronger than you could ever imagine."

"That's what I wanted would never happen, Mario, it's too late unless you go back to your dimension to suppress your genetics!" begged the Kerog.

"What happened next?" Mario demanded to know.

"After I returned to Dark Land and took over, once again taking the Kerog Coracus the First, I could not look at Morton, I was reminded," he paused. "I was reminded of the fact that you and your brother were orphaned in Brooklyn and that I had put Morton through so much pain. I was reminded that Rosalina was slowly degenerating on Rool's ship. So I sent him away to Dinohattan with a shine sprite when he was fifteen years old, and in two years he took over and with help from Rool at that. I heard that he became a firm follower of Kamek. I can't say I miss him, but Mario... get out of here."

"What? You've seen it all!" Mario decided, his voice declaring that he knew this man was his father. "... and survived. That's the trick, isn't it? To survive." Mario began to walk out of the room in frustration when the Kerog talked to him a last time.

"It's not just about living forever, Mario," the Kerog stopped him in his tracks, but Mario did not look back. "The trick is living forever with yourself." Exasperated, Mario turned back, to see his father handing him a crystal. Mario recognized it; it was just like the one Daisy had, but a different colour. He looked at it deeply and realized, it was clearly his mother's.

* * *

In the hours following, the Lockjaw Lords prepared their vessels for war. As it was, if one were to look from a distance at Dark Land, they would see all of the ships, with the Starshroom Enterprise at the head, guarding the impregnable fortress. The alarm was raised, a signal that the enemy was there. From the fog, the first of the ships began to take appearance. As it were, the lords began cheering to rally their troops. Their cheering was silenced when they quickly realized they were outnumbered by a lot. Before any battle, however, there would be a parlay and so Mario, Donkey Kong and Daisy headed out to an island outside it all to meet with their main combatants: King K. Rool and Lord Crump. They were surprised to see Luigi there, and Rool stood in a bucket of water. "The cur that led the sharks to the barracudas," Kong observed Luigi.

"My actions, were to end this," Luigi claimed. "So I can get home to Brooklyn with my family."

"I've been aboard the Krock, I know your burden," Daisy told Luigi. "The cause is lost, though."

"No cause is lost, except for our father, Luigi," Mario informed his brother. Dropping his Lockjaw lucky penny into the sand, visibly so Kong could see, Mario caught Toadsworth's compass as it flew in the air, thrown by a grinning Crump. "Give us the kid and let's get on with this." Crump threw Luigi to their side and grabbed Mario, bringing him forth to Rool.

"I suppose your venture to Dark Land has cleared things up for you," Rool told him. "A man dies and his family inherits the debt. Your debt must be satisfied!"

"The debt was paid!" Mario argued.

"No," Rool claimed and they all knew that they had to let the plumber go. Kong quickly grabbed Mario's coin with his foot and stayed just long enough to hear Rool ask Mario the dreaded question: "So tell me, Mario Koopa, do you fear Kamek?"


	40. Chapter 40

Luigi, Daisy and Donkey Kong climbed aboard. "We need the Starshroom to serve as our flagship to lead the attack," recommended Elizabeth.

"Will we now?" Kong nonchalantly asked. Just then, Luigi spotted Lemmy and Larry dragging Candy to the ship.

"Kong you seriously can't be serious about freeing her?" Luigi asked.

"Can't I now?" Kong scoffed and by the snap of his finger, Luigi and Daisy were restrained. "I want to give Mario a chance... but it's in my heart. I won't let the likes of Crump choose my fate like Mario did back in the day!" Sails raised as the Starshroom started the glory march forward. Kong grabbed Piantissimo's coin from Daisy and placed it, alongside the other Lockjaw coins, in a bowl. Candy was tied to the mast and in front of her, Kong held the bowl. Then, Kong said what he said next softly, so softly, as if it were to a lover. "Kalypso, I release you from your kremling bonds." The bowl was lit ablaze, the coins decayed and Candy began to spasm.

Luigi forced his way forward. "Candy! The first Lockjaw Court may have imprisoned you, but who taught them how? Say his name!" Luigi requested. Then Candy's spasms stopped and she looked forth at the plumber.

"King K. Rool," she declared. Her eyes shot to the Flying Krock, visible and in sight. She started to transform, her eyes turned white, her hair black, the ropes restraining her were tearing. Then, as Kalypso began to grow larger and larger in height, the ropes completely snapped off. She looked around, for an answer. Kong's eyes went wide, then suddenly, Kalypso tore apart into thousands of tiny white crabs. Kong was left wide-eyed, did his gamble even pay off? Suddenly, the wind began to pick up.

"Hope is not lost," Luigi declared. "There's still a fight to be had! The Lockjaw Lords look unto us to lead them into battle! We cannot be frightened! By our courage, hoist the war flags!" His little speech was rousing enough and solemnly, the crew of the Starshroom hoisted the war flags and they set sail to meet the Flying Krock. On all the ships behind, the flags were similarly raised and they began to follow the Starshroom into war. At that precise moment, Crump gave Kudgel the signal to tell Rool to give no quarter. The clouds above them began to rotate and a whirlpool started to form below them. Sheets of rain quickly began their fall. The two formations began to converge just as the Starshroom, outpacing the pirates, and the Krock, outpacing the X-Nauts, began to meet with the sea sailing below them.

"MAELSTROM!" Toad alerted the crew with a hearty shout.

"Kong, at the helm!" Luigi ordered the ape. While Kong clearly did not want to take orders from the plumber, he knew it was for the best.

* * *

Kero Zene tried to veer the Krock off away from the maelstrom, but behind him came Rool. "Afraid to get wet?" taunted the lizard and threw the X-Naut aside. By Rool's command, the forward cannons of the Krock proceeded to slam the back of the Starshroom. Both ships were firing like crazy, but it was apparent that Rool held the advantage in his hands. The two ships span broadsides into each other, with the growing mist blocking out any sign of an outer dimension. It allowed a prison bench to wedge the perfect place in between freedom and imprisonment right into Mario's hands. Pulling down on the bench, Mario was able to open his cell door.

As Mario escaped, K. Rool commandeered his ship with Kero Zene right behind him. Rool pushed Zene out of the way as a cannon ball smashed into two of the X-Naut's guards. Zene looked gratefully at Rool, but the devil of the sea only smiled cruel and bled pain for the X-Naut's protecting Zene, allowing him to give signal to stab the heart of Rool, were now gone. King K. Rool took pleasure in snapping Kero Zene's neck right there. When all of this was done, Rool was going to destroy the Lockjaw Court and the X-Nauts. Rool grabbed the key from Zene's corpse and got back to his slaughter.

Mario meanwhile arrived in Rool's cabin, the captain's cabin where there stood the final two X-Naut's on the Krock, guarding Rool's heart with cannons. "Halt or we'll shoot! YOU!" roared an X-Naut. Mario only grinned, fireballs in both hands, blasted them both. Their chests singed, they had no time at all and were unable to prevent Mario from taking the Dead Krock's Chest. Out of the captain's cabin with the chest in his hand, Mario turned around to see Rool standing there right behind him with the key in hand. "Look here boys!" Rool alerted the crew. "A lost bird! One that never learned to fly!"

"I can sure as hell jump!" Mario claimed. He knew that with the powers that he developed, he could definitely take on Rool. Mario tipped his red cap and ran, gaining enough momentum to super jump up to the upper rigging. Unfortunately for him, Rool had the uncanny ability of teleportation. Appearing right behind Mario, fists bared and ready to fight.

"The chest, plumber, hand it over," requested Rool. The kaptain was being nice, but only for a second, Mario knew that.

"I can set you free, Rool," Mario offered.

"Have you never loved, plumber?" laughed Rool. "My freedom has been long forfeit. I am the sea."

He leaped right at Mario, punching him square in the jaw.

* * *

The two ships tightened in the ever closing circle, their mast's close enough for the attackers to jump from ship to ship. The battle just got all that much more personal. The crew of the Krock targeted Daisy first, but they did not know what she knew. She knew that the crystal was able to function within this maelstrom, because her heart told her so. Using the crystal's capabilities, she was fighting them off, soon ending up back to back with Luigi. "What are we going to live for, Daisy?" Luigi asked her.

"Right now's not the best time!" Daisy scoffed.

"I know we've had our differences lately!" Luigi claimed, ducking below a sword and shooting a crewman in the gut. "But I love you! I don't care what you've done... I love you and that's that!"

"I do too!" she turned and planted a kiss on him. The crewman attacking from his back was shunted down with a blast of pure crystal energy and the one attacking her back met a bullet to the heart. Up above them, Donkey Kong was easily taking down the Kremlings as if it were his country. His fists were smashing through their swords and he was easily dominating them.

* * *

Mario and Rool sparred aboard the rigging. Both trying to best the other and retain enough balance do their first objective. Rool was surprised that Mario's abilities had manifested. He was surprised that the plumber was almost as strong as him, almost. Whenever Mario tired to use a fireball, Rool would smash the plumber's hand and gain the advantage. Whenever Rool would teleport behind Mario, the plumber would gain the advantage. So Rool tried a different tactic, brute strength. The plumber was no match for him. "There's nothing you can do!" Rool roared, his flurry of punches placing Mario on the defensive.

"I have the key!" Mario lied.

"No you don't!" Rool laughed and for a second, the fighting stopped and Rool enjoyed the terror in Mario's eyes. A desperation punch, Mario slammed his fist into Rool, causing enough force for the kremling to drop the key. Falling down the ship's main level, Mario looked for it. Rool shoved him backwards, Mario went in for a punch, but his hand was grabbed by Rool, who threw him against the barrels. The ships slammed into each other and the chest went flying, Mario with it. "NO!" Rool cried and grabbed the chest, and Mario with it. On the Starshroom, Luigi observed his brother's situation and made his way for the Flying Krock. Rool flung Mario up into the air, with the plumber grabbing onto a rope to belay his fall. Mario grabbed a 9mm. Pistol from his workbelt and blasted Rool with it, only for Luigi to grab the chest in the distraction. Rool picked up a shotgun and ran down one of his own men as he chased after Luigi.

Luigi's run was halted by the appearance of a familiar figure, Rosalina. "It's me, your brother!" Luigi claimed, dodging the swordplay of Rosalina. Forced to defend himself and not harm her, Luigi could not do it fast enough for Mario and Rool both arrived. Mario once again engaged in a fistfight, a losing fistfight, with Rool as Luigi fought off Rosalina. Daisy saw this sight and just like Luigi, made her way on to the Flying Krock. Mario raced away from Rool, who simply teleported in front of the plumber and punched him hard in the face, causing him to land hard on the deck. With that, Rool made his way towards the chest, only to be blocked by Daisy and her crystal.

"Girl, you shouldn't have come!" laughed Rool and he advanced towards Daisy, blocking off the shots of her crystal and absorbing the ones that did hit. "Your crystal don't work on me!" As Rool prepared to kill Daisy, he was shot through where his heart should have been. It was Luigi, he knew it was. "Missed, Luigi? Did you forget?" taunted Rool. "I'm a heartless wretch!" The monster turned around and blasted Luigi in the chest, forcing him on his knees. Daisy cried out in terror and Mario, with the chest and key in hand, only watched, his eyes widened by the sight of his brother on the ground. Rosalina's eyes similarly widened and she snapped out of Rool's spell, overtaken by rage, but she knew it was over. As Luigi lay struggling Daisy's lap, Rool observed the sight. "Ah, love, a dreadful bond!" Rool proclaimed. "Yet so easily severed, tell me, plumber, do you fear death?"

"Do you?" Mario asked, dagger in hand with preparation to stab the heart.

"You're a cruel man, Mario, self-serving and dishonest," Rool took stock of the situation.

"Cruel is a matter of perspective," Mario claimed.

"Is it?" Rool laughed and with his shotgun, shot Luigi square in the chest. Daisy began to cry as Luigi struggled to hold on to life, blood profusely coming out of his wound. Mario said and could do nothing, for he just saw his brother take a bullet to the heart. Luigi was going to die, he saw the life ebbing out of his brother. It would be seconds, hopefully. "Take what you want most, Mario? End me, or save your brother!" Kong jumped over to the Krock and attacked Rool, it was a losing fight. Kong had exhausted himself and Rool was just too strong, but the desperation was there. In a split second, Rool grabbed the ape by the throat and threw him back to the Starshroom Enterprise, the move gaining the silence and attention of both crews.

"YOU WILL NOT FORESTALL **MY** JUDGEMENT!"

They were Rool's last words and his most profound. For Rool clutched his chest a moment afterwards and turned with hate and spite to see Mario use Luigi's fingers to pull the trigger and shoot the Dead Krock's Chest. Crying out in anguish, Rool fell over the railing and plummeted into the sea, becoming one with himself, his body lost in the maelstrom.

The bad guy had been defeated, but the question of Luigi remained. Dark black ink came out of the heart as it deflated, volumes of it stained the floor and Luigi's green shirt. Grabbing Daisy and leaving Luigi's body, Mario led the rest of the crew back onto the Starshroom as the ships began to separate. The dark skies began to clear and in a second, the maelstrom had ended. The last thing they saw as the Flying Krock began to submerge, was the crewmen with knives making their way towards Luigi. Daisy was left in horror and shock, and Mario was in tears. "He'll be back," Mario told her. "He'll be back." Enraged, Mario pointed the Starshroom towards Lord Crump's ship. Even though Crump had an entire armada behind him, it was necessary that his ship fight the Starshroom. The two ships got ready to meet each other, Crump coming in for the kill, having an eye to eye with Mario. Both ships had their cannons ready and were going to meet in battle, but from the depths the Krock appeared. At it's helm, wearing a green hat, a white shirt and green pants was Luigi. A dark avenging anger in his eyes, he went to the other side of Lord Crump, the new captain of the Flying Krock.

Suddenly Crump realized what kind of a state he was in. There was no surviving. What was the point of wiping out Mario now, if he would not live to see it? They could take out the Starshroom, yes, but with the Krock now on Mario's team, the X-Nauts had lost. As both ship's began to fire on Crump, he sent the signal for the X-Nauts to turn back to Nautical. Within seconds, Lord Crump was dead.

* * *

At the deck of the Krock, Luigi contemplated his new situation. For ten years he had to wait until he was to be allowed to finally step on land again, whether or not he would return to the Krock after that was his own choice. Ten years of ferrying Boos to the afterlife. He looked to the distance when a voice came to him, it was Rosalina. He looked at her and the rest of the crew, their reptilian features were gone. There she was, wearing a blue dress and blonde hair, normal skin. "You're free, sister, get on the boat and go to shore and meet up with Daisy," Luigi ordered her. She hugged him, and obeyed, but before she left, she noticed Luigi's gaze bound to Daisy and fully understood.

Daisy was getting ready to go meet Luigi, Mario met her by the longboat. "Well Daisy, in ten years, you'll finally get a chance for it to work out."

"What'll you do, Mario?" she asked. Grinning, the plumber held up four Shine Sprites and handed a crystal to Daisy. In seconds, it merged with her crystal.

"I believe I can go home, now," he told her. "To Pauline, to my life. Well, that is if it's only been a year or two and not five or so. I'd say bye to my brother, but I don't have the heart to see him like that. Tell him I said bye." With that, Mario vanished, back in Brooklyn.

Daisy, however, met Luigi on the beach. It would be his last time on land until he could return to her in ten years. They said nothing, they merely met each other in a kiss and started the pattern that Crump had robbed them of. In the evening, the Krock appeared on the horizon, signalling Luigi's time to be up. Daisy, with a blanket around herself, kissed Luigi one last time before he departed. He handed her the chest and was gone.

* * *

Rosalina had decided to stay in the Koopahari, taking Dane Toad with her together they had resolved to create a new ship. One with an observatory on it so that they could watch the stars. Mario was saddened that he was going back to New York City alone this time, but he knew that he had to. It had been months since he was gone though, and so when he came back to see Pauline she was crying. "I never should have let you go," she sobbed. Mario took stock of the situation, she did not want to be with him anymore. She no longer could be with a man who might have to go to a different universe when they would have to get married, or raise children. She could not be with him.

"But you did, and now I have to let you go," Mario told her.

"Mario, you should go back," she told him.

"No, I'll stay, that world isn't my home," Mario told her.

"Look, whatever superpowers you have, super healing or invincibility ain't one of them, right?" she sobbed.

"They ain't," Mario confirmed.

"Eddie says you have to pay off a debt to him," Pauline sobbed.

"Well, let me just take back control of my plumbing business," Mario sighed. "Tell Eddie, I'm ready and tell him, I'll take what I can and give nothing back." Mario was back, but for how long? He knew it would never last.


	41. Chapter 41

**Nine Years Later, 2026 - Brooklyn**

After everything that had happened with Luigi, Pauline and Daisy, Mario, now aware of his true heritage, had no idea what to do. He had no business left in Brooklyn, yet there he was, back at his job as a plumber. For nine years he was just doing the same job he had done before the world got much larger than it used to be. He was forty-nine years old now and he felt old, he felt restless. He gambled and he owed. After all, what choice did he have? There was nothing for him to do but waste away, let his debt pile, pay them off, let them pile until he no longer could. For nine years he did nothing. Would Luigi come back when his curse was lifted? Would he ever see Peach again?

He was asleep he knew it. The familiar voice rung in his head: "Mario… are you afraid of God", it was an honest question. Then it was his voice "No, I'm afraid of you". Then a third, unknown voice, came up: "The mind will desperately try to create memories where none exist". Mario woke up then, it was not a voice in the dream but rather the voice of the woman who was on the rowboat with him. It was raining and the downpour was frantic. The years he was gone, a debt had been rising that he owed Scapelli and given that he was no longer with Pauline, he had to repay it. There was always a debt.

"Are you going to just sit there?" the man rowing the boat asked the woman.

"As compared to what?" the woman asked. "Standing?"

"No," he answered. "Rowing."

"Rowing?" she scoffed and pulled out a box. "I hadn't planned on it." She turned around and handed the box over to Mario.

"Do you expect me to shoulder the burden?"

"No, but I do expect you to do all the rowing."

"Why is that?"

"Because it was your idea to come here!" she said sternly.

"My idea?"

"I've made it very clear I don't believe in the exercise," she told him.

"The rowing?"

"No, I imagine that's wonderful exercise."

"Then what?"

"The entire thought experiment," she told him. Mario looked around, Brooklyn harbour was that way. To pay off the debt, Scapelli had been getting him to break pipes and cause damage to ruin corporate enemies. Mario knew he could go back to Dinohattan at any time, but he did not see a point to it.

"One goes into an experiment knowing one could fail," the man retorted. Mario looked at the box; it had his name engraved on it.

"But one does not undertake an experiment knowing one has failed," the woman claimed. Mario opened up the box. There was a gun in it, some strange engravings on a piece of paper, a flyer for a place called Delfino Plaza and a Brooklyn postcard. They were still arguing by the time they made to the dock, Mario paid attention enough to hear the woman come to an understanding. "We've arrived," she told Mario, indicating him to climb the ladder. Mario staggered on the rickety dock. "Shall we tell him when we'll be returning?" he heard the woman say. "It might give him some comfort." Mario looked back to see them going away.

"Hey!" Mario shouted out to them. "Is somebody meeting me here?"

"I certainly hope so," the man told him. Mario looked at the giant lighthouse, perhaps there was somebody inside. He made his way to the wooden front door and saw the note up stapled to it. 'Bring us the girl, Mario, and wipe away the debt.' He knocked on the door and suddenly it was starting to make a little bit of sense to him. This time, he was supposed to bring some girl back to the two on the boat… nobody answered the knock.

"Excuse me, it's Mario, I guess you're expecting me?" he asked but when nobody responded, Mario forced the door open. Mario saw face in front of him, a sign telling him to wash his sins. "Yeah right," Mario sighed. Walking up the steps Mario shouted out, "Is anyone here? Hello?" Nobody answered, but a New York radio played on. The DJ began talking about the giant weather issues. At the second floor it appeared there was some form of struggle. The struggle was apparent when he made it to the third floor, Mario saw a man sitting on a chair with a leather sack above his head. Blood was visibly leaking through the bag, Mario inspected it for a second, but the man was dead. "… Shit," was all he could say. Attached to the man was a note, written in red ink, which warned Mario not to disappoint. Making his way to the top level, Mario looked at the fog and could see bare silhouettes of Manhattan. While the rain poured around him, Mario saw engravings on a pair of bells. They matched the engravings on the paper in the box. Following what appeared to be instructions on the box, Mario rung the bells in a strange order and all of a sudden, the lighthouse's lights went red and it let out a big bellow. It kept doing it and then it started clinking, but the light kept coming. Then the bellow came back with a series of orchestrated rings upon which the light in the middle of the lighthouse went up, somewhere. It revealed a red dentistry seat. "All right, it looks like they expect me to sit in this fancy chair," Mario humoured himself and sat in the chair. Just as he did, though, he found his arms bound by leather straps. "What the hell?" Mario muttered.

"Make yourself ready, pilgrim," said an automated robotic voice. "The bindings are there as a safeguard." Suddenly, the walls began to close in on Mario, opening his eyes as the valves and gears began to shut down around him. "Ascension… NOW!" Suddenly, Mario felt as if he was on a roller coaster and could see fire below the chair. It felt super-hot. Looking out the window, it seemed as if whatever thing he was in, was now flying away. He could see the remnants of New York leave the ground below him. Suddenly there was a flash of white light.

Suddenly, he was looking over a city surrounded by water. Giant statues all around and houses that seemed to house the one percent, Mario imagined where he was. He wondered what he was in. He passed a white beautiful marble building and to his misfortune, recognized the flag. It was the flag of Delfino Isle, he remembered it borne on the chest of the Lockjaw Lord Don Pianta. Then, as whatever kind of shuttle Mario was in lowered, he was shocked to see the sign and the picture. He looked more elderly, but it was Bowser all right and the caption stated as listed: Lord Bowser, Our Prophet. Then suddenly the shuttle became stationary and started to lower, Mario began to see gears like clockwork and prophetic messages. Then, in front of a mural dedicated to Bowser, showing him leading the Pianta people, the shuttle stopped. The door in front of him opened and the restraints snapped off, giving Mario a good view of the room in front of him. The floor was layered with a thin slice of water and lit dimly by candles.

As Mario advanced down into the next room, similarly lit by candles, he saw the giant statue of Bowser that was there. Unlike the previous mural and the banner, this statue, was of Bowser's monstrous dragon form. Stumbling through the water, Mario saw a man dressed in white. Making his way to the man, Mario asked, "Excuse me, where am I?"

"Delfino Isle," was the solid response. Making his way to the next chamber, there were some tinted windows and a statue of a woman in the middle. There was the metal caption below: "And in my seed shall grow the return of the king". Mario looked at the woman closely; it was a statue of Lena. Then, there was a picture of her, dressed more classically than Mario had ever seen. Next to it was an audio-log recorder thing; Mario tried to remember what it was. It clicked, in the 1910s, people used voxophones.

He picked it up and played it: "Love the Bowser, because he loves the sinner. Love the sinner, because he is you. Without the sinner, what need is there for a redeemer? Without sin, what grace has forgiveness?" The voice was definitely Lena's, but it was much, much, more calm than Mario had ever heard it. He knew he was back in the Koopahari, he just needed to hook up a ship and sail to Rougeport so he could get to Dinohattan and Daisy from there. Mario dropped the voxophone back and started to look for the exit. Getting to the next chamber, it was a picture of an elderly Bowser and a ghastly Lena holding an infant child before what appeared to be Daisy on her knees. Below was the caption: The Lamb, the future of our city. Walking down a set of stairs, Mario could hear a gospel praising something in some foreign language in the distance. He made his way to a large, almost empty chamber if not for those paying their respects and the preacher guiding his masses.

"… and every year," he was saying. Mario came closer, approaching the sermon. "On this day of days, we recommit ourselves, to our prophet, Bowser. We commit through sacrifice and the giving of thanks by submerging ourselves in the baptism of this sweet nectar." He signalled to the water at his feet. "If the prophet had struck down enemies in Dinohattan and not railed against the Sodom beneath us, it would have been enough. If he had not accepted the golden gifts of the Founding Fathers, it would have been enough." Mario pushed his way forth. "Is it someone new?" the preacher acknowledged Mario. "Someone from the Sodom below? Newly come to Delfino Isle to be washed clean before our prophet, the King Koopa himself, Bowser?"

"I just need passage into the city," Mario revealed.

"Passage? Into the city?" laughed the preacher. "Boy, the only to Delfino Plaza is through the rebirth of the blood of Bowser. Will you be cleansed, son?" Seeing no other option, Mario took the preacher's hand and was thrust down, headfirst into the water. If he did not have his superpowers and extreme resistance to drowning, he would surely have died… but no, the preacher only kept Mario in long enugh for him to pass out.

Unconscious, Mario saw nothing but black and heard knocking. Then, he heard it, in a demonic voice: "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt! We had a deal, plumber! Open this door, right now! Mario! MARIO!" Then Mario woke, he thought he did, he was in his safehouse in Manhattan. Pushing open the balcony door, Mario was shocked by what he saw. A giant flying city, raining fire down on New York City.

Then he woke up for real. He was in the actual city now, and surrounding him were three giant statues of men he had never seen before. No, wait. He quickly recognized them. It was Morton Jr., Roy and Iggy, the sons of Bowser. "That idiot priest," Mario muttered, seeing more fools praying to the statue of Roy. "Need to find a landmark and also where the hell I am." Then, as he was about to go through a walkway, the caption above it caught his interest: The Return of the King will Sit Down the Throne and Return the Glory of the Old World. That was what Bowser had said to Daisy before the fight!

Walking through the door, Mario almost fell back by what he saw. The water surrounding Delfino Isle, which looked as if it were actually touching the city, making it an island, was not touching it. It was actually underneath it, Delfino Isle was a floating city. He looked as the platform he was on began to lower him. Carts flying on cables, another prolific statue of Bowser, 1910s buildings all around him, the lift took Mario to an archway. The piantas were laughing and giggling, of course, they did not know Mario was not even from their world. Mario walked around; all the piantas were talking about how much they loved Bowser and the Koopalings. Everything seemed so mega-American to Mario, it was all way too intense. Walking into a clothing store, there sat two piantas on a chair with a man below them. The man was green, as if he was a sailor on the Krock, it was a kremling. The piantas were enslaving the kremlings! It was all so fascist to Mario, he quickly left the store. He had to find the girl, whoever she was, and bring her back. No matter of super strength and sorcery would save Mario from the bullets of Eddie Scapelli. Mario made his way down the road, staring uncomfortably at the Bowser statue. What was going on, did these people not know that Bowser died in Dinohattan?

Walking past a mirror, Mario looked at himself. He fit right in, red cap, red shirt and blue jeans. Well, not right in. Suddenly, a horse cart walking past him blew up. Shocked, Mario turned around and saw sparks flying out of the horses. Mario turned around, but everybody else walked forth, as if nothing happened. Making his way to a bridge gate, Mario realized that the reason he could not get across was because of a parade coming. Maybe he could get some insight. "After the departure from Dark Land," the parade announcer said, "Kamek did present himself to Lord Bowser and show him a vision of the future and so our prophet led the Piantas and Koopas away from the Sodom below and up to the city for the perfect union." The floats, which literally floated, had similar murals. The first was of Bowser holding a child and the second mural of Daisy, on her knees. "But it was the miracle child and the lamb that are the future of our city. For the prophet has said that she in the tower will lead the Sodom below to righteousness." With that, the drawbridge went forth and Mario did as well. Continuing forth in awe, Mario saw another mural, one that he knew could only be about him. It was a picture of a man with a wrench in one hand, dressed similarly to Mario, but in all black with the caption: The Plumber will Lead Our Lamb Astray.

All Mario could say was, "Who is this girl?" Before he could pursue the line of thought, a voxophone caught his attention, grabbing it, he played it.

He recognized the voice instantly, it was Bowser. "Then Kamek showed me a vision, a city of Piantas lighter than air. I asked him why he showed me. For I was not strong, then, I was not holy then but he told me, that only I needed to see it. One man goes into the water and another comes out. Who lies submerged? A man between sinner and saint, unrevealed to man's eyes." How was this possible? Bowser died in Dinohattan! Perhaps, all this was before… but no, Mario knew Bowser's history. The Kerog had told him… his father had told him. Rool simply returned King Koopa to Dark Land and the Kerog sent King to Dinohattan. No room for Delfino.

Continuing up a flight of stairs, Mario was astonished as he saw it. The giant statue, Mario figured true, it could also double for a tower. It made sense after all. That, he knew, was where he would find her. "Mr. Mario," it was the voice of a child. "Telegram for you, sir." Mario took the envelope and read it. It was a warning not to alert Bowser to his presence and to not pick 77. It was signed by Wendy and Iggy. Mario remembered them, the Koopalings obsessed with genetics. Making it to the main gate, Mario saw it to be closed and so headed up the other way, ending up right into a fair.

The first thing he saw was displays of men using powers. Not unlike to his and Bowser's. Men conjuring fire and electricity, but the man presenting them attributed it to something he called Shrooms. Small little red Mushroom heads. Next there was a man displaying tremendous strength, strength Mario had displayed when battling Rool. Pushing his way through to a gate, Mario encountered them, the two with him on the boat. He now recognized them as Wendy and Iggy Koopa, Bowser's children. "Flip?" Iggy asked Mario while Wendy held the tally of results. Not a single had flipped tails.

"Tails," Mario said, but it flipped heads. With that, the siblings departed, not so much as letting Mario ask for an explanation. When he turned to approach them, they thrust something into his hands, another voxophone. When Mario looked for them, they were gone. Nothing else to do, Mario turned it on, it was another recording of Bowser.

"When Kamek gave unto me the tools to build Delfino Isle. For years in Dinohattan we prepared the resources, but when the Plumber Luigi came, he brought war with him and the field of the Koopahari was soaked by blood. The only emancipation I had to offer was death. What exactly was my 'Grand Emancipation' emancipating me from? From my daily bread and from the nobility of my presidential work, and from clothing and shelter but what did it do to me? Why go to the Boolossus and you shall find out. No animal dies free, except for me, but I will not do so for it is my burden to care for the rest of creation. No plumber will stop that." The recording made it quite clear that Bowser remembered the battle at Dinohattan. It was also quite clear he had convinced the people of Delfino that he had sacrificed himself. Bowser had to have been resurrected; otherwise Rool would not have passed on the debt to Mario.

Dropping the voxophone, a gathering attracted Mario's attention. It was a man, Count Bleck, holding a raffle. He looked at Mario suspiciously. "You there, friend, join the raffle, you'll get to kill some kremlings!" he offered.

"No sale, pal," Mario tried to turn him down. He grabbed Mario's arm.

"I insist, friend," Bleck claimed. Reluctantly, Mario did so and pulled out a ball. It was the number 77. "Claim your prize, first throw." Bleck pulled open the curtain and there they were, men and women, not even looking deformed, wearing jackets branding them kremlings. The very thought disgusted Mario, and he was prepared to throw it at the Count when his hand flashed red with the fire inside him. At that, an officer grabbed Mario's hand. "It's him!" the Count roared. "The plumber has arrived to take the lamb from us!" In one second, the Count had started panic. "Only a man with natural power, no inquiry of a second Shroom, can have inherent abilities like yours. Don't you know that makes you the plumber?" Another officer grabbed Mario by the other arm. "I ain't letting no plumber in on my flock! Sic him boys!" The officers pulled out a gun and aimed it at Mario's head… but his strength was tremendous and he threw the two men off of the city and into the depths below. Aware the entire police force would be on him now, Mario ran.

Looking behind himself, Mario saw the police gathering in force. Seeing nowhere else to go, Mario ran for the cables. Heating up his hands, he was able to stay stuck to the cables and ride them away. Unfortunately for Mario, the cops had similar contraptions, actually allowing them to hook on to the cables. Mario turned and saw them following and an idea came to mind. With his left hand, he heated the cable behind him to an immense degree and as soon as the cops caught up to the heated iron, their hooks actually melted, dropping them down to the depths below.

Mario looked towards the tower that he knew had the girl in it. It was big, and it was built in the shape of… a man, wearing a giant hood. Landing back into the streets, Mario ran for the direction of the tower. He was surprised, but, out of all the places in the Koopahari, Mario considered this vile, racist place the most human place in this dimension. Since it had only been three years in his world, Mario knew not much time had passed in the Koopahari… unless he had been transported to the future of it, arriving years after the fight with Rool. Pushing his way past a gate, Mario came to another abandoned walkway, which appeared to lead into a park area. Greeted by a bellowing laughing, a man appeared from the center of the park shouting out "Boom Boom!" Spraying fire out of his hands at Mario, the plumber dodged out of the way, hardly used to being the one fire was thrown at. Getting behind a carriage, Mario waited for the man, who was lighting the whole place on fire to come close to him. Jumping on him, Mario tore the man's armour off and was shocked to see that was what sustained him. Overconsumption of the Shroom had resulted in the man getting addicted to fire abilities but it also destroyed his organs. In seconds the pianta, or maybe it was a koopa, was dead.

Getting back to a clearing, Mario saw a sign for a place called Glitzville. There was a police line in front of him, but Mario crossed it and saw the attractions list. Tower of Kamek was listed there. "Whoever you are, girl, you better be worth it," Mario muttered. Walking past the Glitzville gate, Mario saw the police had wisely tracked his movements and cut off the bridge that led to the tower. Sidetracking and turning left, Mario entered a restaurant, the Blue Ribbon, hoping to find a vantage point to map out his route. Entering the restaurant, Mario was unsurprised to find it abandoned, the police had probably cleared any people out. Advancing to the restaurant, Mario was surprised to find Iggy at the barkeep and Wendy as a waitress. "Okay Koopalings, why are you following me?" Mario asked.

"We were already here," Iggy retorted. "Why are you following us?" Mario ignored him and walked over to Wendy, who was holding up a yellow bottle.

"The difference between life and death," she motioned to the bottle. "It'll enhance your abilities enough to let you survive hard falls and regenerate from bullets, just don't get hurt too much, you're not invincible." Drinking it, Mario nearly fell back, but was surprised that he did feel better.

"Surprised it worked?" Iggy asked Mario.

"Surprised it didn't kill him," Wendy remarked.

"A fair point," Iggy conceded. He tossed another voxophone over to Mario, and as soon as Mario was about to press them for questions, they were gone. Seeing nothing else to do, Mario decided to turn on the voxophone. He completely figured it would be a recording of Bowser.

"And when Rool saw the wickedness of Kalypso was great, he did not repent that he had let the Lockjaw Court bind her. Forty days and forty nights of spells after Rool's fall, Kamek created the Boolossus to recover my spirit from the damned. You see, even Kamek is entitled a do-over and what is my rendition of Delfino Isle, if not another Dinohattan, for another time." Mario thought about it, so, if Bowser had indeed been resurrected, it meant that he had moved on from Dinohattan and Daisy? The last thing Mario wanted to do was anger King Koopa again, especially after learning their recent familial connection. Nonetheless, he had to get the girl if he wanted to enjoy life in New York.

Exiting the restaurant out the back, Mario saw a whole bunch of floating buildings that painted the perfect way to the Kamek Tower. Jumping to one balcony, Mario's landing and running afterwards gave him enough momentum to launch himself to the next balcony and so forth until he was on the rooftop of a building. Making his way around to the direction of the tower, running across buildings, Mario realized suddenly that there was a gunship tailing him. Launching a giant fireball back, Mario inadvertently alerted more cops to his location. Traversing the rooftop, the plumber tried to avoid all of the cops, but occasionally, he had to knock one or two out.

Dropping down to an empty road, a more cautious Mario began to advance once more, however, the road ended at a balcony and adjacent floating buildings were just far too high to jump over. Kicking open the entrance door to the apartment he was next to, Mario listened in on argument. A woman was arguing with a man on some revolutionary, Ms. Mowz. Even though their conversation made it seem like they supported her over Bowser, Mario knew approaching them was too much of a risk and snuck past them, silently traversing through their home. Hiding beneath a window as a gunship passed by, Mario was forced to stay hidden for quite a few seconds, though he did get time to hear what the Gunship PA was saying: "Blood on the streets! And worse is the insult for today is the day that marks the nine years earlier when we seceded from the Sodom below! As Prophet Bowser has seen, the Plumber has arrived! He has come to take the Lamb and lead her astray… everyone calm and lock your doors if you can. Lord Bowser said this day would come, the answer is not in panic, but prayer." At that very moment, the arguing couple walked in to the room.

"Violence is not the answer!" maintained the man. "As much as I support Ms. Mowz, blood must not be shed!"

"What do expect these poor kremlings do?" asked the woman. "The way we treat them, all because a few of them were forced to serve under Rool! The Kaptain died nine years ago!" So that, Mario realized, was how much time had passed. Nine years, Luigi's servitude was almost up. Suddenly she gasped, she just sighted Mario.

"It's him!" exclaimed the man. "The one they're after… go on, they're looking for you!" The man pointed to the back exit and as Mario was about to leave, the police stormed in.

"They're here!" exclaimed the woman. Fireballs in his hands, Mario quickly incapacitated the police. They may have surprised him, but he was still the one with superpowers. Astonishing the couple, Mario bowed and made his exit. Running out of their home, Mario ran down the road, but was again stopped by the fact that the road ended. There was another building in front of him, which connected to another floating landmass that had the potential to lead him to the Kamek Tower. Going backwards and running to gain momentum, Mario made the longest jump he had ever made, barely managing to smash through the window.

The lights were dim and the mood of the building solemn. There was a humming as Mario passed through its corridors and a quick glance at the pictures alerted Mario to the fact that he was in another church-like building. Standing on the second floor, Mario quickly realized that there was no easy way to get out of the building and into the road outside. He had to break up the congress. "And so, upon his return, Bowser led us away from the corrupted Lockjaw Court. Rechristening all Koopas as Piantas, we demonstrated to the Sodom below the true mission the Koopalings had given us. And when the Dinohattanites betrayed him, our resurrected Lord did not heel. Like Bowser originally broke away from Dark Land, he has now broken us away from the Lockjaw and now we celebrate this secession!" Hearing enough of the preacher's voice, Mario launched a bunch of fire grenades down. The smoke gave him cover to escape into the road amidst the panic, able to leak out minus the masses, melting a metal crowbar to lock the clergy in the building. Continuing through the building, Mario saw a familiar sight, a Toad! It was, definitely, a Toad. A man with a hat like that meant he was from the Toed Sthuul.

Before Mario could approach him, the man was attacked a being that jumped out of the shadows, summoning a flurry of bees out of his hands. In mere moments, the Toad was dead. The being turned around to see Mario, fists flaming. Investigating the being's body, Mario found a Shroom that was yellow with stripes. Consuming it, Mario immediately felt much, much stronger. Testing out his theory, sure enough, Mario found that while he could not summon bees, he could generate small iron spikes and telekinetically use them to attack. In the distance, Mario spotted a station from which the gunships were departing. "I can reach the Kamek Tower from that, I figure," Mario muttered and began his ascent. Seeing cables overhead him, Mario used his heating trick to propel him up to the Kamek Tower Gateway, back on track once more.

The gate was closed, however, and a man wearing a striped suit was left in front, smiling. "I'm sorry, Kamek Island is off limits, if you're there for labour, go in with the cables." Understanding, Mario disappeared from sight and headed back up to the rooftop. If he could get high enough, then surely he could jump over the gate.

Making his way to a platform, out of the shadows, out of everywhere, soldiers suddenly came out. Guns ready to fire, a gunship appeared behind Mario. "Give heed, believers! Here is the menace! Here is the threat! The Plumber, here in Delfino Isle! Full of hate and avarice and guile, just like those in the Sodom below… he seeks the Lamb and hastens to the Kamek Tower… even now his thought is to run." The Man was right, but, Mario looked around and knew that there was no escape. The soldiers had him surrounded and there was no way he could survive this carnage. Then, the repetition started for in front of Mario, in front of the lift, a small projection screen lowered.

All of the soldiers dropped their guns and got on their knees in prayer. Mario looked at them and the gunship behind him, all praying. Mario could possibly escape now, or use the lift. Making his way forward so as to not interrupt their prayer, he activated the lift. Upon making it to the top, Mario was shocked to see a picture of Bowser in another screen waiting for him. "I know why you've come, Plumber," greeted Bowser. It was just audio, a recording. "I don't need the crystal this time to see the sins that blacken your soul. Donkey Kong, Eddie Scapelli and the debt of King K. Rool, and now, just like last time, to repay a debt you've come for the Lamb! Like I said before, not all debts can be repaid… brother." That last word there stung Mario more than the déjà vu, the fact that Bowser addressed their shared familial connection.

"Like I said before!" Mario shouted at the picture. "You don't know me, pal!"

"Ruling is still my business, Mario," taunted Bowser. "Blood is still yours. Have you figured out yet, why the Piants, the new Koopa Troopa, will die for me? I am still their future and glory and so they are still content! What brought you to Delfino Isle, Mario, 'Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt'? Not all debts can be repaid! Just like last time, this will end in blood, but with you, I guess that's a given, Plumber." Mario's fists began to shake in anger. The second time, using a near repetitive dialogue, Bowser had enraged Mario beyond belief. "Once more you've come to lead the Lamb astray! Your crook is bent and your path is twisted, brother! Go back to your dimension! GO BACK!" An explosion in the distance got Mario's attention and he proceeded down the metal walkway, trying not to think of what Bowser had been talking about.

To Mario's luck, the walkway led to a zeppelin. There was a woman praying to a statue of Kamek there. Mario ignored her. Looking at the controls, he tried to figure it out, it seemed fairly easy to him… but a hovering noise distracted him. A gunship rose to his level and there, across from him, in humanoid form, was King Koopa himself. Mario stumbled back, astonished! Bowser was dead, this was impossible! "I'd say even Rool forgives everything… but you made sure that wasn't possible. Nonetheless, you killed me and I'm just a Prophet, so I don't have to forgive you!" Bowser's face began to turn reptilian and he breathed fire on the zeppelin, setting it ablaze. This time, the woman did not light it on fire. Panicking, Mario stumbled and as the zeppelin went down, he punched open a window and was pulled out into the vacuum below. Knowing he had only one chance, Mario pushed himself to the cables, using the heating trick to manoeuver himself to the cargo bay.

"Holy shit that was close!" Mario remarked. Lying down, he noted that the cargo bay was actually a ship, heading over to drop off supplies at Kamek Tower. Staying hidden amongst the crates, Mario decided to take a rest and simply enjoy the ride.


	42. Chapter 42

Walking into Kamek Island, there was greenery everywhere. The brushes and shrubs were almost as plentiful as the caution and danger of death signs. The first wall was blocked off, but luckily Mario had the superpower to jump really high, easily jumping over it. Walking into an observatory like room, Mario noted the smaller statue of Kamek in the middle and disarray everywhere. It was as if there were no people in this place for years. Walking past the red tape and entering a dark hallway with flickering lights, Mario completely ignored the Specimen is Dangerous sign. Immediately he saw x-rays of a girl's hand on one billboard, as well as growth rate projections. Then Mario noted a sign at the bend of the hallway, it said 72 Hour Quarantine by Order of Head Scientist Dr. Wendy Koopa. "So somehow Bowser's back," Mario muttered, although the voxophones had made it seem like something called a Boolossus did it.

In the middle of the room that Mario entered, there was a whole bunch of machinery. It all linked to something called a siphon. There were jars and random memorabilia inside of them, pushing open and entering the next room, Mario realized he was now in a blacklight room. There were pictures of a girl, black hair. Some of them appeared to be in some state of undress and others seemed to be of her doing some strange activity. Exiting the room and going to one on the other side, Mario entered it and there was a projector. The video it played was of old quality and Mario could not quite make out the face of the girl, although she was inspecting her surroundings. Several other clips played, Mario felt as if he was watching some 1970s conspiracy theory videos.

Disgusted by all of the analysis being done around him and all of the scientific notes on this girl, Mario proceeded ahead and made it to an iron vault door. He knew that the girl would be in there, turning it and pulling it open, he entered the first chamber of the room. He quickly understood that this was an operating room. A dentistry-like chair, more notes and charts and x-rays all around the room, Mario was disgusted. There were blood samples and cupboards full of research all around the room! Is this why Wendy and Iggy wanted her? To make up for the nine years of torture they must have caused her? "What the hell are they doing to her?" Mario wondered. One note caught his attention, though: Subject stopped aging after nineteen, although biologically she is around the age of thirty-three. Pushing open another vault like door, Mario advanced into the next hallway which ended up in a giant chamber. There was a huge version of the siphon machine in the middle, like the one earlier in the building. This one looked familiar, as if it was made out of the very rock that formed the portal in Dinohattan. In front of a chart that tracked the 'specimen's' age and a sign warning of the facility's danger, there was another voxophone. Mario picked it up and played it: "It is one thing to imagine one's future, and another to actually see it. I have seen the seeds of fire that will sow on the Sodom below. She will sow those seeds, not I. I will be gone for a second time by then, the Boolossus will claim me once my mission is complete. Kamek is calling me home into the afterlife and though I feel his love in every tumor, I know that she must prepare the world for Bowser Jr. to take it all. The Plumber is coming to lead the Lamb astray. I will not let Boolossus take me until I deal with him." So Bowser knew that Mario would be back, and knew that they would have another fight. That wasn't prophecy, just mathematics... if Bowser was doing something to threaten the world again, only Mario could stop him. Making his way past the machinery, then past some wooden floor, Mario entered tight corridors marked by their checkered tile floors. Mario knew for sure he would find the girl soon, for the signs said Specimen Observation. Then he made it to a panel marked Specimen Location, showing a bunch of rooms and a light next to each. Pushing the button, the light next to Dressing Room activated.

"That's where I need to go," Mario muttered. The doors led to a wooden walkway, with there being several more doors, each, Mario figured, would lead to another observatory room. Entering the first one, Mario pulled a lever and saw her, a girl with black hair, wearing a white shirt with a blue ribbon and a blue skirt. Before Mario could see her face, however, she walked out the room. Mario looked around the dressing room, noting the picture of New York framed on the wall. Advancing to the next room, Mario turned the lever and looked through the one way mirror. There she was, in front of a picture of the Empire State Building. Her back to Mario, it looked like she was pulling something apart, then a flash of white, Mario almost blacked out, and it looked like a portal was open to New York. "What the Hell?" Mario gasped. Then a firetruck began to come and just as it approached the girl, the portal closed in a flash of white, knocking Mario down to the ground. When he got back up, he could only see the girl running away in terror. Entering and opening the third chamber, Mario saw her looking out of a window, the bright white light obscuring almost everything but the form of her. Knowing he had to get inside, Mario opened the door next to him and was almost flattened and thrown off the Kamek Tower by the hurricane of wind, but he quickly stabilized himself. "Holy shit...," Mario muttered. "I can do this." Struggling to walk up the steps, Mario did so slowly, getting up the ear of the Kamek Statue and pushing a door open to get inside. Pushing open the chamber door, Mario saw the observation door to be after a smooth golden floor piece. Walking across, suddenly the golden floor began shaking and it collapsed. "Oh God!" Mario cried as fell down to the floor, crashing through a table. He heard her scream as he tried to say 'hello' and when he tried to put his face up was knocked down again as a book hit him in the face. "Hey!" Mario said, on his knees and looking down at the ground so as to not get hit by a book in the face. "Knock it off! Stop it! I'm not here to hurt you!" As she approached, Mario put his face up. "Daisy?" he whispered. Aghast, she stepped back. "It's me, Mario, your friend. I've come here to get you out."

"Get out of here," she said coldly. Then she sat on a chair. "Are you real?"

"I'm real enough," Mario assured her. Then a harsh whistle sounded and Daisy looked terrified.

"He's coming... you've got to go!" Daisy told him.

"Why?" Mario asked, but was interrupted by another set of shrill whistles.

"Because you don't want to be here when he gets here!" Daisy quietly but harshly said. Then she turned to the hole that Mario fell from and shouted: "Just a minute! I'm getting dressed!"

"I can get you out of here!" Mario promised.

"There's no way out," Daisy solemnly said. "Trust me, I've looked." Then she yelled at the ceiling again after the shrill whistles continued. "You're too impatient! Stop it! You're too much!" Mario made his way to a door and ripped it off of the hinges. The building shook a little bit right then. "It's his job to keep me here!" Daisy told Mario.

"We'll see about that," Mario told her, although he had no idea who or what she was talking about. He figured it was the thing that kept whistling. Just as Daisy exited the room, the building shook and a panel slid over the door. This panel, Mario punched it, could not simply be pulled off. So he ran at it and kicked it. Following Daisy down the stairs, the building began to shake and debris started to fall from the ground. As Mario followed Daisy, the building began to collapse and the wooden floor began to crack.

"Why did you come here?" Daisy asked as Mario ran. However, as the damage and shaking continued, sparks began to fly. Mario had no time to answer her right away. They began to spring, but the shaking was too much and Mario fell, just in time to see something scratch three long holes right into the building wall. Then it happened again, just as they made it to the elevator. Daisy was desperately pushing the button. Next to the elevator, however, Daisy noticed and saw the one way mirror to her dressing room. "What's this? They were watching me? All this time, why?" she gasped. Mario noticed the crystal was still around her neck. "Why did they put me in here? Why?" She turned to Mario, desperation in her eyes. "What am I?"

"You're the girl who I'm getting out of this tower!" Mario told her. Just as the elevator dinged, a giant black gloomy claw smashed through and the eye of a dragon looked through the hole, inspecting the situation. Mario was frightened, he had never seen an actual dragon before. Bowser and Rool were both giant lizard like beings, but an actual dragon? That was a little too much. As it tried to force it's way in, Mario sent a flurry of iron pins it's way. The dragon did not even faze, so Mario launched a fireball above it. The elevator fell on the dragon's head, forcing it away. The dragon did, however, clear a path. "This way!" Mario told her and they jumped from the hole to a staircase. Making their way to a vault door, Daisy tried to open it, but it was too much, forcing Mario to kick it open. The wind slammed into them, but they could not relent and forced their way up, for there was no other way to go. Just as they were running, they were falling, both screaming. Seeing cables, Mario heated his hands and did the same trick once more, catching himself mid-fall and riding the cables. Looking back, he noticed Daisy with a sky hook, doing the same trick, riding the cables and dodging the dragon's swipes and attacks. Mario looked to the Kamek Tower, the dragon had knocked the head off. Then it intercepted them and cut off the cable, forcing them to fall again, but before they could land on the bridge below, the dragon smashed that as well and they fell... into water. It took Mario a second to realize, but they had not fallen to the ocean miles below the city, but rather into a pool. He went unconscious right after the realization. The last thing that he saw before fading, however, was the dragon's inquisitive head peering down into the water, only to be repulsed by the pressure boring down on it's head. As it departed, it's bat like winds carrying it away, Mario, relieved that he had not been ripped to shreds, let it all go to black. He pondered his thoughts for a second and decided that it was for the best. He had to rescue Daisy again after all. It would be harder this time, though, much, much harder. After all, last time, Mario had Luigi by his side. This time, Luigi was sailing underwater somewhere, collecting and ferrying souls to the afterlife, somewhere Mario did not want to go.


	43. Chapter 43

Everything was grey as Mario began to come to. He was in his office, in Brooklyn. Yet, everything seemed to be very, very, grey. There was a large, incessant banging on the door and a voice. "Mario! MARIO!" the voice cried. It was male, and sounded demonic, even. Mario began to get up and nearly fell back, there Daisy was, leaning against the wall looking lifelessly at Mario.

"Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt," she nonchalantly stated.

"Are you in there, Mario?" the voice asked, slightly calmed down.

"What do you want with her?" Mario asked.

"We had a deal, Mario!" the voice roared.

"Tell me what you want with her!" Mario demanded.

"Open this door, right now!" the voice continued to roar. Mario began to cautiously approach the door, then when his hand was on the knob.

"Are you going to hurt her?" he asked. There was silence beyond the door and Mario opened it. There was flash of white light, a blonde woman. "Peach? PEACH!"

* * *

Suddenly, Mario began to come to on a beach. He began to remember it all. When he was little his father, uncle and sister disappeared. He tried to search for them and found a trail of clues which he was set to deliver to the police. Mario was given a note threatening his younger brother, Luigi, though and attacked. Scared that he could lose the only family he had left, Mario backed off. He was young when his father disappeared, but Mario always tried to honour those values that his father instilled in him. He tried to pass them on to Luigi, who never seemed interested. During this time Mario won Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr., two apes who racked in big money for Mario until Donkey Kong kidnapped Pauline. Mario was scared then, captured Kong and sold him. Then they met Daisy, who took them to a city in the Koopahari known as Dinohattan, ruled by the oppressive Bowser, Morton Koopa. This King Koopa seemed to know everything about Mario and in their fight, only the plumber was left standing in the end. Daisy had to stay in Dinohattan, whereas Mario and Luigi returned to Brooklyn. Yet three years later, they were forced back by Lord Crump and embroiled in a plot involving the Dead Krock's Chest. It was there Mario learned of what happened to Rosalina, his Uncle Bill and finally met his father, the Kerog of the Dark Land. They defeated King K. Rool and freed Uncle Bill and Rosalina from their debts, but Luigi was forced to become the new kaptain of the Flying Krock. With the four shine sprites in hand, Mario returned to Brooklyn only to find his own debt had risen. Then he had been given a chance to free it, bring them the girl and they would wipe away the debt... it was that, wasn't it? Bring them Daisy?

"Peach... PEACH!" Mario shouted as the vision started to come back to him. He had arrived in Delfino Isle. From a deal with Rool had Bowser taken over Dinohattan, and while the specifics of that deal were never made clear it did not matter much as Mario had killed the King Koopa. Then from the voxophones he could tell, that shortly after Rool's death, somebody named Kamek had revived Bowser using a Boolossus. Mario remembered Boo's, spirits of the damned that Rool ferried to the afterlife. When he had ruled Dinohattan, Bowser let the Koopas live in luxary while the Toads and other lower-class "species" where oppressed. Now, in Delfino Isle, the Koopas and Piantas lived in luxury while the Kremlings were second class citizens. Yet one Kremling, Ms. Mowz, was leading a full scale rebellion against Bowser.

As more of his vision returned, Mario saw that the girl in front of him was Daisy. "Where am I?" he asked her, wondering if it had all been a dream.

"Back to the land of the living," she told him. Suddenly, in the distance somewhere, Mario began to hear some tunes play. "Do you hear that? It's music!"

"Go on...I just...just need to...," Mario motioned her away to just catch his breath.

"Okay, I won't be long. I won't be long, Mario," Daisy told him and ran off. With that, Mario passed out and everything went to black. He had no dreams, nothing infernal made his mind rewire this time. What deal had Bowser made with Rool? Who was Kamek? How did Bowser come back? Then he woke up.

"Where is she?" Mario thought as the sudden bursts of light pierced his eyes. Sirena Beach said a sign below a larger sign that said Hotel Delfino. From the corner of his eye Mario could see a boardwalk, obviously accessible through the hotel. He needed to find Daisy, though. She was different now, though. Who knew how long she had been here. Her hair had been dyed black, so Mario could only tell it was her by looking her in the face. Going to a random beach-goer, Mario asked, "Hey! You see a young girl?"

"Is this some kind of sales pitch? Because I am not interested," the man shooed Mario away, so he went to another one.

"You see a young girl? Uh, blue skirt...no?" Mario asked a woman this time.

"No, but I'm without an escort if you're looking to pass the time," she said with a sultry voice, Mario backed off.

"Hey, I'm looking for a young girl," he asked the next one.

"Who isn't, brother?" the man laughed and walked past. Then, out of the corner of his eye Mario saw it and walked to it. It was a poster of an airship.

"An airship...that could be our ticket outta here," he realized. Walking through a small corridor of Hotel Delfino, Mario had no time to admire the exquisiteness of everything and walked over to the next side of the beach. There he saw Daisy, dancing at a beachside bandstand at the edge of a pier. Making his way there, Mario noticed her playfully ignore him. For a second he wondered if this was even the same Daisy, or someone plucked out of the Multiverse by Bowser, like Bowser himself had been to the Kerog. Then he noticed the scar that led from her neck to her shoulder. Yes, this was her. "Hey, Daisy. Daisy! Could you just- Hey, I need you to stop! Please stop." She looked at him and laughed playfully. "Alright, Daisy... c'mon. Hey, Daisy... Daisy... Daisy!

"Hello!" she greeted him. "Oh, this is wonderful!

"C'mon, let's go," he told her.

"Why? What could be better than this?" she asked him.

"Well... how'bout Dinohattan, your home?" he responded back.

"Dinohattan? I...don't understand," she told him. It was almost as if she had forgotten about it. It was like how Luigi described Rosalina's memories on the Flying Krock. "How can we get there?"

"Well, it's where that airship's goin'," Mario indicated to the flying ship behind them, "but if you want to stay and dance, we could..." He let his words trail off.

"No, let's go! C'mon, let's go! C'mon, let's go right now!" she told him and they ran into Hotel Delfino. Again, everything was so articulate in the hotel. There was nothing that seemed so much more polished in this dimension than the city that was Delfino. "I'm out. It's hard to believe but it's true, isn't it? Oh, can you smell that? I've never smelled anything like that before, have you?"

"Beaches I know don't smell much like that. You probably don't remember the Hudson much," Mario indicated. They made their way off outside the hotel and into a station, where there was a poster of Bowser.

"Mario... Bowser," she pointed to the poster. It was a picture of him in his form as a dinosaur, not his humanoid version. "I've read about him like that, like a dinosaur. They say he can see the future when he's like that."

"Give a man a little power, he falls in all kinds of love with himself," Mario explained. "Like when he had your crystal back in Dinohattan."

"I don't like his look," Daisy declared.

"Can you dislike the look of the Bowser? Or his gaze?" questioned the shopkeeper. He seemed to have a disgusted look on his face at that statement. Hoping to avoid conflict for now, Mario led Daisy upstairs where they linked back into the hotel and shortly outside onto the Boardwalk. Mario very quickly found their way to be blocked by Iggy and Wendy, who were showing off pairs of jewelry to Daisy.

"Bird?" asked Iggy.

"Or the cage?" offered Wendy.

Iggy persisted, "Or perhaps the bird?"

"Nothing beats the cage," Wendy insisted.

"These two again," Mario sighed, exasperated. He wondered for a second, how most of the Koopalings were. Ludwig was dead, Larry and Lemmy were with the Toads and these two were? "How do...," Mario thought, trying to rationalize these two. "Never mind." Daisy looked at the brooches that they were offering her. One had a bird encrusted into it, the other had a cage. What kind of options were these?

"Look at these, they're amazing!" said Daisy. "Which one do you like more? This one...or this? The bird is beautiful, and the cage is somber, but there's really something special about it. I just can't decide." She showed them off to Mario, hoping to have his opinion on it. Mario just wanted to go, so he pointed to the bird.

"The one on the right," he told her. "I'm sure."

"I love it!" Daisy claimed. With that, Iggy and Wendy walked over to the side and got out of their way. Walking past the boardwalk, Mario looked past it and to where Kamek Tower was. The smoke had finally cleared around it and a frightened crowd, watched the ruins begin to fall apart. "My God... look," Daisy indicated him to it. Mario thought he saw that dragon flying around it, but it was probably just a trick of his mind. "It was my home all the time I've been here... let's go." They entered the closest building, which was another station, this time with an arcade built in. The police were frisking bystanders, preventing them from entering if they did not have photographic identification ready for presentation. "Well, we aren't getting through there, but I have just the thing!" She led Mario a door away from the police's periphery and pulled the crystal out, placing it by the door, it clicked open.

The crystal had the same function as shine sprites. It was a siphon which could teleport between dimensions. The crystal, however, had the power of several shine sprites and could perform more tasks like teleportation from one place to another in the same dimension. It could also merge dimensions if it was at a siphon. Apparently it provided Bowser with omniscience when he last had it. Now it opened doors too. They made their way to a dual manager office which thankfully had a door that led to a backroom. There a Kremling was working, they ignored him and moved on. Entering the bustling arcade, they saw a clear path straight to the gondola station.


	44. Chapter 44

How had life truly changed for Mario? Ever since he entered the Koopahari, he began to learn things about himself. He pondered this as they walked toward the Gondola.

General Koopa, once a soldier, had risen through the ranks and become Kerog Croacus. He fell in love with a Gatekeeper and fled to Brooklyn with his brother William, but only after they had made deals with King K. Rool - the debt collector of the seas. In New York City, they had three children: Mario, Luigi and Rosalina. Mario's magical birth had resulted in the birth of Morton, a shadow child. He had given Morton up to Rool and hoped that no portals would ever open again, but they did when another Gatekeeper... Daisy's mother opened one. General Koopa was nearly killed by her, but the damage was done - Rool returned Morton and took William and Rosalina. Koopa returned to his title of Kerog Croacus, but seeing Morton as the definition of his failures sent the shadow child to Dinohattan. Then Morton did the same thing General Koopa had done - he made a deal with King K. Rool.

Growing up Mario was not a very nice kid, not at all. He hung out with Eddie Scapelli and was a gangster essentially, protective of Luigi... and Peach. Yet in his last adventure, despite gaining superhuman strength and the ability to use fireballs - he had lost Luigi to a sea curse. In all of these adventures one thing seemed to be constant, crystals and sprites. Both could teleport through dimensions but with enough sprites one could negate the effects of a crystal, yet crystals could merge dimensions at a siphon.

"Why do you think Bowser is so adamant on separating the Koopas and Piantas from Kremlings and Toads?" asked Daisy.

"Just the way he is," suggested Mario.

"Seems unnecessary."

"I guess he needed an excuse to band the Koopa Troopa together again," suggested Mario. "Or his time in debt to Rool still embarrasses him." Quickly heading to the ticket offices, the two found the clerk on the phone. Like most Koopas, he seemed ignorant and brash. Although a Koopa by blood, Mario still considered himself human. The man was muttering something, he looked lazily off at Mario and Daisy a few times... but that was it. "Hey," Mario tried to interrupt. "Hey! Excuse me." He rung the service bell. "Two tickets for passage to the airship."

"Yeah, just a minute friend," the clerk told him. "How do you want to proceed."

"In a bit of a rush, pal."

"Send in the bird," the clerk said and put the phone down. He looked and regarded Daisy for a second, then pulled out a knife and lunged for Mario. Almost instinctively, Mario launched a fireball into the clerk's chest. Grabbing the knife he viciously stabbed the man in the chest and looked around... there would be more Koopa Troopa in here for Daisy soon.

He looked at her and she was horrified, as if she had seen something in him that scared her. Something she had not seen in a long time."Get away from me! Let me out! I want out of here now!"she yelled at him and backed off to an area sealed off with bars. Mario began to hear voices coming from the corridors. The Koopa Troopa were coming.

"Daisy!" begged Mario. "Let's go!

"Stay away from me!" she told him, slipped through the bars and fled. Hearing the soldiers march, Mario turned into an opposite corridor and began to try and sneak out, incapacitating any stray soldier he would run into. Where could she be? The Gondola platform? It was as good a guess as any? Making his way his way for it, he spotted her there. She was getting in the gondola, trying to get away. Approaching cautiously, he put his hands up as she saw him. "You butchered that man. I can't believe you did that...he's all dead... You've changed! You're a monster!" That was it, he could try and console her or they could get out of there.

"What did you think was gonna happen?" asked Mario. "Do you understand the expense Bowser went through to keep you locked up in that tower? He came back to life to do it! You think people like that are just gonna let you walk away? You are an investment...and you will not be safe until you are far away from here." There was a whir in the air. "Get down!" Mario told her and they ducked out of sight. A gunship passed by them, making the declaration:

"Koopas and Piantas, the False Prophet... the Plumber... is loose in the streets of our fair Delfino Isle! Will you suffer the shame of allowing your wives and your daughters to fall prey to his machinations as he tries to lead the Lamb astray? Or will you act? Act for the Lamb! Act for Bowser! Act!" They began to try and make for another way to get to the airship, reaching a tower off of which Mario was sure he could get them there. Wrong move, he figured as there was a flapping in the sky, a roar and terror.

"It's back!" gasped Daisy and she clutched her crystal. Mario had merged her crystal with his mother's crystal, amplified its power. Suddenly a tear opened, a portal and for a brief second... he could see home, New York City. There was no guarantee though that it was his New York City. Yet the crystal, it had sent whatever was causing the flapping away.


	45. Chapter 45

He was not a good teenager at all. He, Eddie and Peach - all pretending like they were from the Goodfellas or something. He was a mean kid and he had a mean streak about him.

They had quickly found that whatever was outside of the gondola had damaged it, they needed to be able to power it. Apparently there small spherical balls called Amps found in Hotel Delfino. The hotel was... empty, as Daisy quickly found out it had been closed for repairs. So there would be no line to get in. At the gates, towering over them was a huge statue of Bowser. What had Koopa been trying to do? Bowser wanted to merge the dimensions and while Mario had suggested destroying the siphon... he had never done it. Yet, Delfino Isle was always his plan. Maybe death was not, but death, getting sent to the Boollosus and resurrection via this... Kamek allowed him to do so unhindered. That whole time, while Mario was fighting Lord Crump... Bowser was getting ready to strike back.

Entering the lobby, Mario looked around for a second. The entire thing felt... ghostly. Was that a spotlight? Mario looked up and suddenly it shone down on Daisy and him. There was commotion outside. Somebody was giving a speech. Mario opened a window and peered out. Sure enough, it was a Pianta. "When we strike, we will teach Morton Koopa Jr a lesson!" That was Bowser's son. "I know and you know the public respects Morton Jr for he is the Prophet's son - but let me be abundantly clear, Morton Jr is no hero!" Another child of Bowser's was going down? How many was that then? Ludwig was dead, Larry, Lemmy, Iggy and Wendy defected... now it seemed so had Morton Jr. There were still statues of Morton Jr, just as there still were of Iggy. Clearly some things Bowser did not want to become public knowledge. "Ah he'd spent time down in the Koopahari Wasteland so long, that the Koopa has gone native!"

For a long time, the people of Dinohattan thought they were all that was left. A chafing city in a desert, once the rivers opened up they could get to Rogueport, the city of the Shy Guys. Then there was Dark Land, the nation of the X-Nauts, the places the others of the Lockjaw Court came from... yet this dimension was still mostly unexplored. It seemed that Morton Jr had spent a lot of time in the Wasteland? Probably made him crazy, made him turn against his father.

"If Morton Jr had his way! The damn Kremlings and Shy Guys would be up in Bowser's Castle - or in your homes copulating with your wives!"

Morton Jr was a Kremling sympathizer? Maybe he was. He probably hated the Toads, but maybe he survived with the Kremlings in the Wasteland. Who knows what had happened. Larry and Lemmy stayed together, Iggy and Wendy stayed together, Ludwig lost control... all alone Morton Jr. may have learned to sympathize.

"Now he has himself holed up in Hotel Delfino... and it is our job to get him out! Dead or alive! Once our gunships arrive, we're going to storm the Hotel! Clear him out and you'll be home in time for supper!"

No you won't, Mario realized and he launched a series of fireballs, incapacitating his enemies in one swift motion. They never even realized that he was watching them from the inside of the hotel. His hand graced a voxophone, it was from the Kremling leading the rebellion against the Piantas and Koopas - Ms. Mowz.

"When I first saw Delfino Isle, the sky was the brightest, blue sky that ever was. Then your eyes adjusted to the light and you saw all the Koopas looking down at you. The days at Bowser's Castle were simple... hard work sure, but simple. Hmph, Roy Koopa... his touch was almost sweet. Almost enough to make me think I had a place in his life. Did the Kaptain make me foolish so Roy could have me to play with? The one thing the Kaptain knew was that the antidote to fear is fear. I don't want to be a part of the Piantas' world. I don't want to be a part of the Koopas' culture, their politics, their people. The sun is setting on their people and soon they shall see it is dark. One day... one day nobody noticed me and then the next they thought I done offed Roy. I head to Glitzville and I hide. I hide deep. The more they look, the deeper I hide. Only thing a Kremling child can count on is invisibility. I wish I was able to speak to the Plumber who stirred up so much fool for Bowser and the Kaptain. There were enough troubles before he destroyed the Kremlings' authority and left Bowser to fill in the hole. We are the Shy Squad. I hope he comes here... I hope he is amiable... but immediate concerns. When forced deep underground you can see things from the bottom up. Down at the bottom of the city, I saw a fire burning. A fire's got heat aplenty, but no mouth. The Shy Guys of Rogueport had a strange power... our Shy Squad will a mouth big enough for all Delfino Isle."

So Roy was dead. Killed and it was blamed on his lover and servant, Ms. Mowz. So taking inspiration from the Shy Guys of Rogueport she started her revolution, the revolution of the Shy Squad. This was weird. "So Roy's dead, Bowser's lost almost all of his family," Daisy sighed. "I almost feel bad for him."

"Had he not kidnapped you twice," grinned Mario. "I mean, he sent those men out there to kill Morton Jr., and Morton Jr. is in here somewhere." Mario's hand hit another voxophone, he turned it on and he and Daisy listened. It was from Morton Jr., so what were his thoughts?

"I served my father. Be it Dinohattan, Rogueport or the Koopahari Wasteland... every heathen land was less peopled for my passing. I hated no special enemy, not even the Plumber. Until now. Father. He made a tragedy of my battles and cast himself as the Prophet as he wanted to do back when he was killed! I tried to call him out over it and he stripped my rank! He has never seen my face as the savage one of war, but he will! Veterans! Shed their blood for Delfino Isle, lost limb for Kamek! Yet father did nothing! Look up and while mine is surely there, it is his that towers above all! At every angle an insult! If my father makes a whore of our past, what rape does he hold for the future? Let us make our stand, fill Delfino with real Koopas! They will call me an assassin when my work is done. Morton Koopa Jr, the swift left hook of the Shy Squad. I will trade my father's lie for a new one. So be it. Mowz and I are comrades of necessity. With father gone, I will plunder the city he built for Kamek."

Well Morton Jr had gone crazy. Likely welcomed into Delfino Isle by Bowser, to serve under his father. Whatever he faced in the Koopahari Wasteland though, it had changed him and he no longer feared his father. "Let's just find the Amp and get out of here," Mario nodded to Daisy, but a voice came on the intercom.

"Mario Segale proved his worth that day," it said. The voice was Morton Jr, he knew they were there. "You've always been different, haven't you plumber? You crave no glory. My own father wants me dead! I won't die at his hands! My men, Kremlings, Toads and Shy Guys all have a choice... die at father's hands or yours. You've always been a killer Segale, whether you like it or not! If you want the Amp, you'll give my men the death they deserve!"


	46. Chapter 46

What happened to Peach? After they drifted away... she just left, and he fell into Pauline's arms. Pauline, who had aged a few years more than he had when he was in the Koopahari... Pauline, the woman he thought he loved... they were done though. Had he made the wrong choice?

"The return of the king will sit down the throne and return the glory of the old world!" Roy roared through the intercom system. "Now your companion, Daisy... Mario was with her when she wrapped the money in the bag with the man with the knife! The man was no man though... he never was!"

"What is, what is he talking about Daisy?" Mario asked her. That sounded familiar to him though.

"You don't wanna know," she muttered.

"It's about your neck isn't it?" Mario deduced. "I can see it in your face." Last time, Bowser had insisted that Mario was responsible for the cut on her neck. He did not remember cutting any girl's neck. Yet Bowser claimed it was because of him.

"Tell him, Daisy! Tell him how much it hurt! Do you still remember your scream?" asked Morton Jr. "Kamek does!" Mario ignored the comment and continued on, the hotel was ruined. Maybe once upon a time it was beautiful, but now, by the misuse of Morton Jr and his soldiers it had been wrecked. Maybe once upon a time there was plenty of vigor and joy there... well as much joy as racism could allow, but it was gone. Morton Jr's craze had caused him to turn against his own father. How many close to Bowser were even left loyal to him? When he and Daisy had first entered Hotel Delfino it was beautiful, and that was only hours ago.

Pushing into a room, Mario was shocked at it. It was a single lone hallway... depicting his and Bowser's lives. The first painting showed their birth, then Rool's collection of Uncle Bill and Rosalina. Mario and Luigi in Brooklyn, General Koopa and Morton in Dark Land. Bowser's deal with Rool and Daisy's meeting with Luigi. Mario's epic battle with Bowser. Then they diverged again. Mario's battle with Rool and Bowser's meeting with a giant Boo - the Boollosus. Mario's return to New York City and Bowser's return to life.

Something had happened to Daisy. From what Mario was able to gather, her time in captivity caused her to forget most of her memories of Dinohattan or New York City. No. Not lose, just pushed aside to a place where she could only summon them if she was told to. It had happened to Rosalina on Rool's ship. That was nine years ago. That was when he had thought that Rool passed General Koopa's debt on to Bowser, but no... the truth the was much more damaging. "Daisy, how long have you been here?" Mario asked. "Last time I saw you, well, you were going back to rule Dinohattan. With Rosalina, Toad and the others." The names seemed like distant memories to her, before she could answer, Morton Jr interrupted them again.

"Father wasn't there! When your war with Rool happened, the wasteland felt the effects! The fell enemies from Crocodile Isle took my sanity and thirty of my men! Is there even a stone to mark that?" cried Roy. Suddenly they were rushed by Kremlings - Roy's men - who came from all corners. Summoning his powers, Mario easily defeated them. His defeat of them, though, was brutal. They were bleeding out, burned and dead. "You did them a favor, Mario. You let them feel a warrior's death! If you are no hero, what are you? If you take away all the parts Mario Segale tried to erase, what is left? It's almost over."

"What did you try to erase?" Daisy asked.

"Now that you're out of your cage," Mario sighed, "do you see the advantages it had?"

"A choice is always better than none, no matter the outcome," protested Daisy.

"What if you realize one day you don't like what you chose?" he asked.

"I've got the Amp, Mario," Morton Jr told them. "I'm straight ahead." Entering the next room was a display of Kamek Tower, the stone etching was a quote from Bowser, reading:

"While Ms. Mowz has murdered my son, she will not have and corrupt the Lamb! The return of the king will sit down the throne and return the glory of the old world! The return of the king will sit down the throne and drown in flames the glory of the new world!"

Morton Jr. spoke again, clearly from wherever he was watching he knew Mario was reading. "You see Mario, maybe you are the man I remember, maybe not. It doesn't matter. Father searched for the king for so long until Kamek realized it was him! Now... he's coming for me... when I'm gone all that will be left is the whelp!"

"Just give us the amp!" Mario demanded and he kicked the door open. Another passageway, Daisy was still reading the etching though, trying to make sense of it.

"Am I? Am I?"

"Bowser's tool," Mario told her. "He wants you to destroy the human world."

"Well I want a puppy but that doesn't mean I'm going to get one!" decided Daisy.

Following through the winding passage, Mario looked through a window. Way at the far end was the beach where he had awoken earlier. In the night sky, the ruined Kamek Tower looked beautiful even. Had the evil of Bowser not contaminated this place, it could have been amazing. Finally, arriving at a door with a sense of purpose to it, Mario knew they were at the Amp. There was Morton Jr, the giant Koopaling son of Bowser, slumped down against the wall with the Amp in his hand. Reaching for the Amp, Mario nearly fell when Morton Jr grabbed him. "You're not done here soldier!" the Koopaling decided. "Eat everything that's on your plate! Finish it!" He handed Mario a gun, not just any gun... it was a de-evolution gun. "You haven't changed one bit Mario." In seconds, Morton Jr was primordial ooze.

"I suppose it was mercy," Daisy mused later. "Bowser's men would have taken him anyways." Mario simply nodded at that. "Mario, I can tell that the whole encounter with Morton Jr bothered you. I know it's important to do what to survive."

"If you remember well enough," remarked Mario. "How long did he keep you here? How much do you remember, I mean unless I tell you what to remember?"

"I remember everything, none of it just feels important," Daisy told him. "I never made it back to Dinohattan. Maybe moments after you left and Luigi disappeared, soldiers came down and since then I'd been in the tower. Nine years I was in there. So many shine sprites, I could barely open anything up... had you not merged that other crystal into mine I doubt I'd have had the power to do any. Nine years, Mario. Nine years."


	47. Chapter 47

Heading back towards the Gondola, Mario could tell Daisy was slightly irritated when he tried to spark conversation with her again. "I still don't understand how all these crystals and shine sprites work."

"They're just siphons," Daisy sighed. "The power is in me, it was in my mother. We need these siphons, these crystals to work our ability. Then there's the siphon, the portal which could've merged dimensions. A siphon like that could be catastrophic. Shine sprites are siphons too... how they work though, no one knows." That was a good enough answer to Mario. Arriving at the Gondola, Mario saw wires torn out of the engine, connecting them to the Amp the power roared back to life in an instant.

Just as they prepared to leave, a voice thundered through the speaker systems. "He will abandon you, my sweet Daisy," Bowser said. He had always spoken to Daisy with a calm respect. "Once he has what he needs, he will leave you alone. What else could you expect from a liar and an desert of women?" Deserter of women? What?

"Bowser," Mario muttered.

"Bowser... King Koopa... whomever you are," Daisy gave up in trying to reason with him. "I'm leaving and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Oh, sweet child... that's where your wrong," Bowser responded, a growl coming at the end of his voice. Suddenly the gondola was surrounded by snipers, all aiming at Mario. Bullets primed, Mario ducked down from the piantas' line of sight and crawled out of the Gondola. Slowly getting out, he looked around and realized none of them knew he had left. Running towards the nearest building, Mario walked into the back alley. Jumping from wall to wall, he made it to the roof and took out the first sniper. Only nine left. Soon they were all gone as well, but before they had gone they realized that Mario was out of the Gondola. So they fired at the ride, trying to sabotage it. Despite that, they were still dead and the Gondola still active.

Getting in it, Mario sat mostly off to the side. The Gondola was their only way to the airship. Then Daisy spoke, "When you were unconscious on the beach, you kept repeating a woman's name. Peach."

"I don't wanna talk about that," Mario told her. It had happened around twenty years ago after all.

"I, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have pried," Daisy quickly apologized. "But why are you here? I thought you were going to stay in Brooklyn?"

"I was, but I swarmed in debt by Eddie Scapelli as soon as I came back," Mario told her. "I was approached by two people, told me to bring the girl and they'd wipe the debt away. I didn't know I'd be returning here and I didn't know that you were the girl." They did not talk any more. They had made it to the platform, an aerodome, that housed the airship. Once there, they would be in the clear. Chart a course to Dinohattan and they would be home free. The aerodome was empty and they soon passed into an elevator, where Daisy was still quiet? Did she not want to leave? Did she want to stay here and defeat Bowser?

The airship, called the Koopa Copter, was a magnificent, large white flying blimp. The inside was extravagant, couches, silk and velvet everywhere. Hardwood flooring, educational books. This place had everything. Making it to the console, Mario started to operate the machine and that was when Daisy started to talk. "We shouldn't leave," she told him. "We should stay and defeat Bowser."

"That isn't up to us anymore," Mario protested.

"So you're going to do what? Take us back to Dinohattan?" remarked Daisy.

"It's the best thing to do, there's only one more year left before you can reunite with Luigi," Mario suggested.

"One of the things I've learned in Kamek Tower is that if I can break his curse, Bowser will never let me," Daisy maintained. Mario had no idea how she jumped to that conclusion, but it made sense. Luigi was one of the primary people who stopped Bowser last time. He could do it again, even without Mario. If Daisy did not return to break the curse, he would truly be the next Rool. Daisy turned around, her back to him. Almost right away Mario felt pity, but as soon as he approached her she knocked him out cold with a monkey wrench.

* * *

In between bouts of consciousness, Mario saw Daisy fiddling with the controls. Changing their destination, probably heading back someplace on Delfino Isle. She looked at him one time as he regained some life, but she left and he faded again. Then, just as he was about to get up again, he noticed there were several Shy Guys in the airship. Men from Ms. Mowz's Shy Squad? Likely. One of them approached him... and knocked him out again. When he finally regained full consciousness, he was half hanging out the door of the Koopa Copter - all the enslaved Kremlings working below him as he passed overhead. Getting up, Mario approached the one woman who looked to be in charge.

She did not wear a Shy Guy mask. Instead she wore a red domino mask. "So you're the Plumber we've been hearing so much about," she said, sizing him up. "You've caused a mess."

"You Mowz?"

"Nothing but."

"I've got no quarrel with the Shy Squad," Mario told her. "But this is my airship and I've need of it."

"Really? It's old Bowser's from the looks of it."

"Look I don't want to fight," Mario put his hands up.

"There's already a fight, question is, Mario, which side are you on?" asked Mowz. "Bowser's the God of the Koopas and the Piantas. But if you believe in the cause of the Toads and Kremlings, join the Shy Squad."

"I just want my ship."

"And we shall give it, but first you must help us," bargained Mowz. "Down in Twilight Town there's a gunsmith who'll help us. Get our guns, get your airship." Then she pushed Mario out of the airship; he landed hard on his back on hardwood. Getting up fast though, he realized he must have entered Twilight Town. There was a giant poster of that man, Count Bleck, towering over the workers on the docks. The poster itself was hung on a ginormous building. Next to him was a Voxophone, by Bleck himself. Did people just leave these anywhere?

"I told you Bowser, you sell paradise and customers expect cherubs for every chore! No menials in Kamek's kingdom! Well, I've a man in Crocodile Isle who'll lease us as many Kremling convicts as you can board. Why you can say their simple souls in penance for rising above their station! Whatever eases your conscience I suppose. The truth is, I don't have a lot of time for Bowser's prophecy nonsense. Belief is just a commodity. Old Bowser, well he does produce. Like any tradesman, he's expected to barter his product. You see, one does not raise a barn on song alone. No sir, that's Bleck's timber, Bleck's hammer and Bleck's hand to swing it! He needs me - lest he soil his own. I thought my own dear brother a fool when he told me he heard music trumpeting from holes in thin air. Not only though did he make a fortune from the holes around Kamek Tower, but he paved the way for me. These holes showed me yet another wonder, though Bowser has already seen an application for it. They illuminate a merger of past and present, of power and loyalty, of dark and light. The process seems to be irreversible, bringing it through. Bowser will have need of this kind of thing, for Kamek Tower of course. These holes continue to pay dividends and if my brother's composer is amazing, my creature is a new God. My brother will be the master musician of Delfino Isle."


	48. Chapter 48

"I better find Daisy before she lights out of here," Mario muttered, threw down the voxophone and began to walk around the dock. Following the path out of the docks, Mario heard some workers conversing about a girl. Probably Daisy. Heading that way, Mario traversed under the giant Count Bleck sign and factory and through the alleyways. Gears, pipes and steam pumped all around him, practically nauseating. "Get out of here, snipe!" Mario heard some men say behind a metal door. At first he paid them no attention, but then one of them said, "You wanna know what we do to pretty little stowaways? Or maybe you don't." Despite his enhanced strength, pulling the door apart still required effort.

Sure enough, there on the ground, crystal around her neck, was Daisy and two burly Koopas above her. As soon as she turned and saw him, though, she ran. "Hey, just stop for a minute!" pleaded Mario.

"Get away from me! Stay away!" she yelled. Did she really think she could stop Bowser without him?

"I just want to talk to you!"

"I said stay away!"

"Daisy!" Mario shouted as he neared her, but all of a sudden party decorations flooded into his face. She probably summoned some using the crystal. Wading through them, Mario yelled, "I'm not angry with you!" There she was, in front of him then and pushing open a large wooden door. As he neared though he noticed that she summoned a train using the crystal and quickly jumped back.

"I am not going with you! Not with all these people in danger! I have no need for you anymore!" She was at a wall now, Mario walked, trying to approach her. She quickly used her crystal again and jumped through to the other side. From what Mario could see, there were two members of the Koopa Troopa there. Sure enough they grabbed her since Mario could hear her struggling from the other side.

Soon enough, one of the troopers said out loud, "It's her! Call it in, call it in!" There had to be another way to Daisy and her captors, so Mario doubled out of the factory and set his sights on a flight of stairs. Heading up them, he could see Daisy and the two troopers in an empty corridor. The distance was within reach, taking the jump Mario incapacitated one of the troopers with a fireball and knocked the other one out with a powerful stomp. Turning to Daisy, Mario could only ask, "Are you done now?"

"I'm not going with you," she maintained and booked it. Running into a docking yard, Mario followed her. There were crates on supply lines everywhere, a conductor's platform and several boxes of paperwork and liquor scattered around. She was there in front of him in a second, in an open area.

"Plumber!" came a roaring voice and Mario fell back as a body collided into him. Nearly knocked out by the sheer power, Mario looked up and he recognized the man. It was Chuck, the police guard who presided over his meeting with Ludwig in that first adventure. So it seemed all of Bowser's cronies were in this one. Grabbing him by the head, Chuck used inhuman - or in-koopa - might and launched Mario off the platform and above the endless sky below. Grabbing on to a crate, still hanging above danger though, Mario quickly found himself slipping but quickly pulled himself up. Just as he did though, Chuck shot the ropes to the crate and he quickly descended to the heavens below. Landing on a cushiony surface, Mario was for a second relieved to find that Daisy used the crystal to zap a zeppelin in for him. Only for a second the relief lasted as he soon found himself slipping. Grabbing on to a rope off the side of the blimp, Mario came face to face with Daisy at the blimp took him near a platform.

"Do not attempt to follow me, Mario," Daisy warned him. "Your part in this adventure is done."

"Daisy, I've made an arrangement to get our airship back!" Mario cried out, it was a desperate plea. It had to work otherwise he was screwed. Thankfully she turned around.

"You can get us out of here?" she asked skeptically.

"Yes!" Mario promised. "I just need enough weapons to supply an uprising!"

"And where will we get these weapons?" she asked. "From one of our many friends and allies?"

"A gunsmith in Twilight Town!" answered Mario, as the blimp neared the platform he got ready to hop off. "Should be a walk in the park." He looked at her and extended his hand. "What do you say, partners?"

"You've become a liar and a thug, Mario," Daisy said, shaking her head. "But you're also the only one who can beat Bowser in case he... transforms." She took his hand and pulled him on to the platform. He took a second to catch his breath, but Daisy continued to sulk. "Don't get too comfortable with my company, Mario. You're a means to an end, no more." That was it? After all they had been through, she disagreed with him because he did not want to fight Bowser? Well the way it was going they may as well have done it now. Luckily, right by them were stairs heading up to Twilight Town. The building connecting to Twilight Town was just as fancy and extravagant as the rest of Delfino Isle had been, but for some reason Mario had an idea that the interior would not be.

Daisy pulled a pamphlet, it was of a man named Gloomer. "That would be your gunsmith," she told him after reading the description. "Who told you to find him?"

"Ms. Mowz."

"She's either a great hero or the worst of scoundrels depending on who's doing the telling," Daisy remarked.

"If she's good for an airship I don't care if she's the queen of Brooklyn," said Mario. They walked through a currency exchange and then through some revolving doors they found the door blocked by troopers. Daisy only looked at Mario and he nodded, they would have to get into Bleck's shanty towns illegally. Going off to stairs on the side, the two found a door that quickly took them to the lower levels of the building. There was a lobby below them with a door that could take them into Twilight Town, the problem was that it was guarded heavily. Coasting along the railings, Mario dropped Daisy down below and quickly followed suit. Chucking a fireball up to the platform he was at before, Mario quickly got the attention of most of the guards and swiftly pushed through and into the doors.

It was an empty office space, nobody else was in there thankfully. Heading off to the back, where Mario spotted a service elevator, they noticed some safety deposit boxes. One was teetering open, heading there, Daisy stepped back a little. "This was Morton Jr's box! He must have kept some personal stuff here," her voice trailed off as she pulled a diary out of the locker. "This is Lena's diary. Why would Morton Jr have it?" Opening if, she began to read it out loud: "'My husband claims that our child is blessed by Kamek's divine will. I am a believer, but I am not a fool. The gatekeeper's daughter... will held under our roof when the congregation of the Pianta's occurs.'" Then she began to speak extremely fast, as if she were trying to hide her real feelings. "Well, so Bowser had been planning this for a long time. He always wanted to make Delfino Isle, something must have changed his mind that first adventure, caused him to try and merge the universe before this. Probably you arriving." She could not contain her emotions anymore, and so she blurted it out,"This dead witch decided years ago that I would be locked in Kamek Tower!"

"Daisy...," Mario extended a hand to console her, but she did not take it.

"I just want to beat Bowser," she told him. Hitting the door of the service elevator, they both entered and started to head down. It was a long descent to Twilight Town, with nothing eventful occurring until about halfway of the fifteen minutes they spent in it. That was when the elevator phone rung.

"Hello?" Daisy answered it.

"Hold for Count Bleck please," a female secretary said on the other end.

"What's going on?"

"Mario? Count Bleck here," it was indeed the ghastly voice of the disgusting racist right hand man of Bowser. "Listen my boy... we've had our eyes on you for quite a while now and I can tell you right away that you are our top candidate! Top! My associate Doopliss will help you with anything."

"What the hell was that?" Daisy asked Mario.

"No idea," said Mario. They were quiet again, but then they passed by it: a giant golden statue of Count Bleck. Probably towering over the denizens of Twilight Town. Soon they entered the levels of the town itself, they could tell as the first thing they passed were cramped living quarters with rats all around. Then men watching propaganda videos. Then a trooper assaulting a Kremling, or was it a Toad? Nevertheless, they soon descended to the bottom floor and the elevator doors opened up. Waiting for them at there was a pale man, blonde, red eyes and dressed in white. This had to be Doopliss.

"Mario, welcome to Twilight Town," he bowed slightly. "You'll find a variety of supplies here that should see you through your visit."

"What does Count Bleck want with us?" Daisy asked him.

"So sorry, ma'am, but Bleck is only interested in the gentleman," Doopliss told her.

"But still," insisted Daisy.

"So sorry, young miss," he slithered. "Any questions regarding the gentleman's application must be taken up with Bleck himself." With that, he punched a button behind him and a giant metal gate opened up. They were in Twilight Town. It was a dirty, grey town. The cobblestone floor was cracked under much pressure. The smoke and pollution fogged every street and window. The troopers seemed extra cruel. It was almost like New York from the 50s or a coal mining town in the Klondike gold rush. The way to Gloomer's gunsmith shop was not long, it was almost right by them, just across a bend. Entering, the first floor was full of powder, smelting equipment and a forge. In barrels there were gunpowder barrels and in side rooms the gunpowder was in fine plastic sacks. Heading up the stairs, Mario stopped to look at an idol. It looked like Rool, but kind of like Luigi as well...

"I've read about this... that's Rool, but Luigi-Rool," Daisy told him. "Kremlings worship him, they say he became the next Rool and will usher them into an age of enlightenment."

"Something tells me Bowser doesn't take to the worship of any idols but himself, especially Luigi," chuckled Mario. Heading upstairs, to the gunshop they found some machines in order. Most of them, though, were broken and busted. Some papers were thrown around. Overall, the entire room seemed to be in disarray. "Someone worked this place over, Koopa Troopa no doubt." Almost as if on cue, they heard a woman crying. Turning around, there was a woman, her name tag said Eve, crying at the Luigi-Rool statue. Heading down, Mario asked her, "Excuse me, ma'am. Where's Gloomer?

"Not here," she said between sobs. "They take him. I pray to Rool. They give me my husband back."

"Where did they take him?" asked Daisy.

"Pit, everyone is taken to the Glitz Pit," bawled Eve.

"Leave her," Mario told Daisy when she pressed. "We'll find this Glitz Pit. Troopers probably got their foot on his neck while asking about Mowz. Now, let's find it."

Stumbling back outside into Twilight Town, Mario began to make way for a pair of open gates. Best way to head would probably forward. If the gates were open, it meant that the troopers opened him. Wherever the troopers were, sow as the Glitz Pit. Suddenly though, Mario felt a harsh hand on his neck. Flying through the air, Mario knew that it could only mean one thing: Chuck. Getting back up, Mario was backhanded into a wall. The blow would have certainly killed him had he not been enhanced. Running, Mario started to throw fireballs at him while standing on the patios in front of shops. They hardly seemed to faze Chuck. He did not seem this strong back in Dinohattan... something must have happened. Bowser must have experimented on him to make him stronger. Picking up a Kremling, Chuck threw the poor man at Mario. Ducking, Mario instantly regretted not taking the hit as soon as he saw the poor man in a crippled heap. No time to dwell on it though. Jumping up to a rooftop, Mario started to throw even more fireballs. Chuck stumbled back, but suddenly generated an electrical ball, shaped kind of like a rugby ball. The ball of electricity hit Mario with such force that he fell and hit the canopy before stumbling onto the cobblestone floor. Chuck ran forward and punched Mario again, sending him flying - but the plumber made sure to land on his feet. For a little bit, that was all it was, Chuck pounding on Mario - who kept on absorbing the blows, but there had to be a time when he no longer. Although he hardly thought so, his fireballs were indeed affecting Chuck, slowly wearing him down. Eventually getting some distance, Mario realized it and unleashed a flurry of fireballs, bringing Chuck to his knees. Taking the chance, Mario charged at the gargantuan trooper, jumped and stomped Chuck's bloody brains into the pavement.

"I admit, it's been a while Mario," Daisy told him when he caught his breath. "But you certainly still do know your way around a brawl. I apologize, you know, for calling you a thug." Mario simply nodded, and they headed down the street. The Glitz Pit was not a small codenamed building, no, as Daisy pointed it out, it was a giant fighting arena. A boxing ring and all within a building that seemed out of place in Twilight Town. "There it is, Mario. Now we just need to find Gloomer and get out of here."

The lobby featured a strange welcoming automaton, green carpeted flooring and twin staircases. It was fancy, and like Mario knew, out of place in Twilight Town. "Ah, Mario my boy!" said Count Bleck through the PA system. "You know, the best kind of interview is the one where the applicant doesn't even know he's being evaluated! I've watched you since the other day at the lottery! You're a brute, and in times like this I could use a brute!"

"What do you want, Count Bleck?" asked Mario.

"Why Mowz is coming!" laughed Bleck. "She's got the whole jungle riled up! A man like me could have use for a Plumber like you!" Heading up the stairs, Mario opened the door to find himself in a skyboxy-esque balcony with a bar overlooking the boxing ring.

"Let's find Gloomer and get the hell out of here," said Mario.

"Now, now, all I ask is that you finish what you started, Mario," requested Bleck over the PA. "Wouldn't want to disappoint the other applicants!" As if out of nowhere, a man ablaze rushed Mario. His main power was fireballs, how would he fight a human blowtorch? Avoiding fireballs for once, Mario ducked behind a pool table, but grabbed the cue. As the fireman neared, Mario smashed the cue over his head and threw the defeated foe down the balcony. "He was a veteran of your fight with Rool! Fought for Dian Pianta! Now what's that they say about old soldiers? My money was always on you! This next one though? He's a devoted servant of the late Lady Lena, worships her statues and all!" A flying Koopa came charging at Mario, the problem though with mechanical wings? They overheated easily. Quickly causing the parakoopa's wings to implode, the man went flying in circles until he hit a wall. "Now enough of the opening acts. Your true rival is an excellent replicant! His ambition has already served him well! Fight Doopliss, fight!" Out came Doopliss, the man who had encountered them earlier. Wearing a white cape covering his face, he looked like a Klansman. He was probably the best fighter out of all them, attacking Mario with swift succession. Pounding at Mario's face, he smashed the plumber into a wall and used momentum to throw him off. Luckily Mario landed on the ropes and slid off onto the floor, it did not stop the pain though. Jumping off, Dooplis nearly smashed Mario's face into the floor like Mario had Chuck. That would have been it. That was when Mario realized why he was losing so easily to this man, Doopliss was copying his every fighting move. There was no way he could beat Doopliss. Taking the punches, Mario eventually began to wear out and stumbled down, he was going to lose. Luckily though, he noticed Daisy behind Doopliss, she pointed her crystal at him and sucked him into a portal. Well, he was gone. "Congratulations Mario! You know when your name was first passed to me I wasn't sure you were the man for the job! But now I can say with all certainty that I was wrong!"

"I'm not interested in your job Bleck!" yelled Mario.

"Now, now I know all about your little job for Mowz," Bleck's words oozed out the PA. "Do you really want to take her job over mine? Do you know how many would kill to be head of my security? You're a tough nut to crack, Mario... but I promise you this, I will get what I want." With that, Bleck went silent. Pressing forward to a door, Daisy pushed it open to reveal a stairwell. Heading downstairs, the basement of the Glitz Pit was dank, wet and dark. The wood flooring was weak and wearing away. Mario was slightly scared that they could rot and send him plummeting below.

Inspecting a blackboard, Daisy pointed out Gloomer's cell number: 9. "Fink reminds me a lot Eddie Scapelli," remarked Mario.

"Really?" asked Daisy. "The businessman who tried to shut down the dig site?"

"Not him back then, but him when we were teens," responded Mario. "I'll tell you this, if people like him are in the world then people like Mowz are required." Making their way into a chamber, they both stopped cold as they saw what was playing on the projector. An interrogation, a man in a hood. As soon as the trooper in the video started talking, Mario knew that it was Gloomer under the rag.

"Tell us what you know about Mowz you damn Kremling!" the trooper spat. "We know you can hear us? You want to say something or do you want us to bring in Eve for company?" These men were dastardly and evil, just like most of the Koopa Troopa. Throwing a bucket of ice water on him, Mario looked to Daisy who was disgusted by Bowser's actions. It was not too long ago that Mario had learned that he too was biologically a Koopa, not a human. He still regarded himself a human though, a Brooklyn boy altogether. Daisy too was a Koopa, and she too was exempt from Bowser's racism. Making their way to the cell blocks, Mario opened up the door to number 9 but it was empty inside. That was when Bleck's voice aired up on the speakers again.

"Mario, you're a true Koopa!" he complimented, but it hardly felt like one. "But you can't blame me for looking after my own interests can you? I know Mowz has come calling, but I think you'll find your business with her has come to an end. Koopas walk with Koopas, not Kremlings!" Heading down another stairwell, Mario made his way to an interrogation room... by following a trail of blood, which ended in a black room. Hitting the light switch, Mario could hardly show any surprise when he saw the mangled, brutalized body of Gloomer.

"We're too late, goddamn it," cursed Mario.

"This is what he meant," gasped Daisy, as she put her hand to her mouth.

"We need someone to make those guns, dead is dead," sighed Mario. Another light from a distance blinked open.

"Dead is dead," came a voice from the light. It was Iggy. Mario gasped, where the hell did they come from?

"I see heads," remarked Wendy.

"I see tails," Iggy retorted.

"It's all a matter of perspective," declared Wendy.

"Why are you following us? Who sent you? Count Bleck?" asked Mario. Lighting up a fireball in his hand, he was prepared to put down two more Koopalings right there and then.

"What do you see here? From this angle?" asked Iggy.

"Gloomer," answered Wendy.

"And that angle?" asked Iggy.

"Eve."

"Mario," said Daisy, pulling on his arm. "His wife."

"This one needs a nudge," sighed Iggy and he pointed to a tear in space and time, one that Daisy could use her crystal to hop through. It was the gunsmith's shop.

"A different building, a different gunsmith, a different perspective," spelled out Iggy. Why were these two helping him? "Heads. Tails. Husband. Wife." Iggy walked to the left and left, Wendy did the same but went right. No other alternative, Daisy opened up the portal to Gloomer's shop and they stepped through. They were in the ground floor, fascinated at their teleportation. Daisy had not done such long distance teleportation in a long time, not since the war with Rool. There was shouting outside, was there a protest? The building was surrounded by noise.

"Something tells me things changed while we were at the Pit," sighed Mario. The yelling was practically riotous. There were men and women banging on the doors, which were barred with iron. Once they broke the glass they pulled at the metal rods.

They could hear Bleck's voice outside. It was loud, was he leading a charge against the rioters? Probably. "What is going on here O'Chunks, as my personal bodyguard, I suspect you'll want to find out how Mario and the girl got out of the basement and into the gunsmith's shop!" So he was still after them! Yet there was no way that Count Bleck could reach them. For now they were safe. Heading up to Eve, Mario could not find any machines there at all, or any powder or anything. Where was everything?

"Eve, Ms. Mowz sent us, we need to talk about getting some weapons!" he called out to her.

"They took my husband's tools, Bleck's men," she whispered. "They locked them up in the impound in the Creepy Steeple."

Nodding to Daisy, the two knew that they would be heading to the Creepy Steeple. Heading out, the rioting in the streets was bad. The ground was literally bursting beneath them and being reduced to rubble, ash and dust. It appeared that Bleck had left, and so had this O'Chunks man. Yet the sun was shining, they were rioting in broad daylight. Making their way into an area of quiet, Daisy took the lead and Mario saw her scar again. What connection did he have to it? "If you want to ask me, then ask," Daisy told him. "It's all right, it's as much a mystery to me as anyone else. Bowser knows though." Mario said nothing in response. If Twilight Town was this bad, then the Creepy Steeple had to be worse. The path to the Steeple was a long golden bridge, made by Bleck's laborers. Like Mario expected, they were rioting there as well, so he had ample time to get across with Daisy in safety. Walking into the Twilight Town Housing, Mario took an elevator down.

It was not like the last elevator rides, Daisy talked right away. "You must think me some sort of freak," she said in frustration. "A girl who keeps getting captured by a tyrannical lizard. Whose only boyfriend has become the ferryman for souls. It must seem ridiculous."

"You just got dealt a bad hand," said Mario.

"I'm not going back to Kamek Tower, no matter what happens!" she declared.

"They won't stop until you do."

"Why? What did I do to them?"

"You frighten them."

"Good."

That was that, no more talking between the two. Just like last time. The elevator opened and they walked into the Creepy Steeple. It was exactly what they expected, a giant housing project with dirt for a road, some broken stone paths here or there. Deteriorating rooms, no light but that which was allowed. Canldes burning everywhere, waxing and melting in equilibrium. Some men were gathered near the center there, where on a few cardboard boxes stood a Kremling. The word, or name, 'Heronicus' was tattooed onto the man's bare back. Whoever this man was, he was rallying these Kremlings and Toads, the disenfranchised.

"This is what they want, brothers! To keep you so hungry you can't speak to beg! To keep you so ignorant you can't think of solutions to all your problems! To keep you chasing that Koopon so you can buy everything that they are selling! Brothers! Ms. Mowz says there is another way, another way coming soon!"


	49. Chapter 49

In regards to Heronicus' speeches, Daisy could only turn to Mario and remark, "These people are all like this because of Count Bleck. Maybe Mowz is right, maybe Bleck does deserve to die."

"Doesn't matter so long as we get her the guns and the airship," said Mario. Making it past the poor in their projects, Mario could not help but be appalled at the travesties around him. He had seen homeless in Brooklyn, even Manhattan. He had been to Queens... he knew the conditions some people had to live in. This, though? This was something else. So many people gathered around a vending machine and began to beat into it for the food. Descending further down into the Creepy Steeple, the conditions of the people only worsened. Children starving, men struggling to walk... it was horrifying, like something out of a UNICEF pamphlet.

"Mario, there's the impound!" Daisy pointed to a part of the Creepy Steeple that seemed detached from the rest. There was sunlight pouring down on it, but the steam filters made it look almost violet in light. There was an effigy of Doopliss there, he most have been the lead constable of that squadron of the Troopa. A trooper stood, bullhorn in hand in front of his fellow officers, giving a speech. "The Shy Squad are the bastard children of the Kremlings and the Toads!" roared the officer. "Like all bastards we serve them best by smothering them in the crib! We hear tell that the gunsmith was making them guns, we take his tools! Make no mistake, troopers: the Shy Squad and weapons go together like fire and gunpowder! One spark and we'll have a blaze we cannot control!"

"We're going to have to get through an army to get to the weapons," commented Mario.

"Can we sneak around?" asked Daisy.

"It'll be hard," remarked Mario. "But we're going to have to, there's no way I can take on that many." Heading behind some crates, they noticed the troopers disperse and start making their rounds. For the moment they were safe. There were some cables above, linking to the police station. Pointing them out, Daisy aimed her crystal and created a makeshift portal.

"It'll take us past their sight for the moment, drop us down on that ledge there," said Daisy. Heating up his hand, Mario rode on the cables into the portal and down through the ledge. Now directly above them, there was a gap between Mario and the platforms, then a larger gap between him and the police entrance. There was no way he could jump that far though. "There's another portal I can open, halfway through the gap between us and the entrance. Jump through and it should land us at the front." Nodding Mario saw her open it, threw her into it, jumped in, caught her halfway through and landed nimbly on his feet in the front. Before any trooper could turn around, Daisy opened a portal and slipped them inside the impound. Walking ahead, past the statues of the saluting Koopalings, Mario opened the door to the inner sanctum. Most of the officers must have been out of the impound, given that there was a skeleton crew working which was quite easy for them to slip past. One trooper noticed them but was quickly silenced by Mario. "There, the tools!" Daisy pointed to something glittery, barely discernible behind two windows and a chainlink fence. Nodding, they made their way to the location. Yet, when they did, Mario simply sighed - all of the tools were gigantic and heavy. "There's no way we can take these back - we didn't think this through," remarked Daisy. "Wait... is that?" She opened up a portal in place of all the tools.

"That's a room without any of the tools in it," commented Mario. "How is that?"

"It's the future," exclaimed Daisy. "The tools aren't there so they must've been taken back to the shop! If we go through this portal, we'll be about a day or two into the future." Mario nodded, stepped through, extended his hand and pulled her through with him. She closed the portal and with them now into the future, Mario looked around. Instead of tools, it was all weaponry - the troopers must have returned the weapons to the shop given that Gloomer's death ended direct connection to the Shy Squad. "Mario, if the Shy Squad get these weapons there's going to be a revolution."

"Yeah," agreed Mario. Almost as if on cue though, there were sounds of a battle raging outside the impound. Shouts, screams, cries and gunshots. Walking through the police station Mario noticed all the troopers practically frozen - wobbling, their noses bleeding. It was almost as if they had been stunned.

"Our time travel... it must have done... this... to all of the troopers around here," determined Daisy. It almost seemed like the men were phasing between today, and the time before they jumped into the portal. It was scary, so continuing on, Mario and Daisy moved out of the building, they had to get their airship now and leave this place. Walking out, Mario looked at the fire in the sky. From this small part of the Creepy Steeple, the fires of Mowz's revolution was reaching all of them - the only thing to get through the fog of Doopliss' fortress. "Can you feel it?" Daisy asked Mario. "Mowz has moved these people! Things can change, Mario and we can be a part of that change!"

"I don't want to be a part of it," said Mario, bluntly. "Once we get the airship, I can leave." Walking back to the skyless area of the Creepy Steeple, they heard Mowz's voice in the PAs above them, thundering.

"Count Bleck says all this trouble, all this strife - is on our heads! He says we're to blame! Says nobody has anything to complain about! If it's not fine for you and yours, it's because your a backslider and you've fallen into sin. Let me tell you about sin. It's sin when you turn on your tap and no hot water comes out! It's sin when you work eighteen hour days and can't feel your loved ones! It's a sin when Bleck sleeps in a mansion and you have to make your bed in hay and straw! I'm going to tell you all something, brothers and sisters, the biggest sin of all, the mother of all sins is that we sit back and take it!"

It hardly took long for them to come across a battle. Men of the Shy Squad, Shy Guy masks adorned on their faces, were fighting the Koopa Troopa, guns ablaze in the streets. How did the Squad get weapons? Guerilla warfare? Mario quickly brushed it off, no matter the way, they would need Eve's guns either way. One of the roads back to Twilight Town was on fire, a soldier came stumbling through. He was bloody and thrashed, he looked at Mario and his eyes widened. "You're Mario! You're the hero of the revolution!" he exclaimed in joy, as if he had renewed vigor, he ran back into the heart of the battle.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Mario questioned. Daisy pointed above him and he nearly stumbled back, it was a painting of him. Red cap, red shirt and blue overalls. The caption red what the man had said 'Mario: Hero of the Revolution'. The days they had skipped ahead had really caused a change in Delfino Isle, Mario was now a saint for the Kremlings and Toads it seemed. That must only mean that to Count Bleck he had to be a villain of tremendous proportions - rejecting the job offer and fueling the Shy Squad? Tremendous. Ahead up on the road, two Shy Guys whipped out their pistols and executed two troopers heading down the stairs. Going up the stairs, Mario noticed a crowd gathered roaring one word: shy. Mowz's voice came back on as Mario entered the crowd.

"Mario disappeared for this day! It was he whose actions spoke for the people! He whose dilution of the brains of the troopers allowed us to take hold of the Creepy Steeple! Now is the time to stay true to his cause! Now is the time for Bleck to fall! On to his factory! Let the mighty be laid low! For the people, for Mario, for the true voice! We're going to the factory and we're going to burn that motherfucker down!"

"In the days we missed you've become a hero," observed Daisy. "It must have been more than a few days we skipped ahead for this to have happened. Mowz must have thought you disappeared, but what happened to all the troopers around the impound. She made you a martyr, gave you credit and rallied everyone to her cause." That was smart, Mario realize. Very smart. All they needed was a symbol, a symbol like the Plumber. Except there was the problem, martyr's stayed dead. Heading down the next set of stairs, Mario and Daisy walked into the bar at the end of the road. People were posing next to dead Troopers, their guns and fallen symbols all around. Heading to the back of the bar, Mario went down a set of stairs and to the basement. There Daisy noticed a kid run beneath the flight of stairs in fear for them. Going to a shelf, she pulled out an apple... there was a guitar on a chair. Picking it up, Mario did not know why he did what he did, but he started to play it. The child looked out, curious, and Daisy started to sing the exact lyrics to the song. It was the song that Peach used to sing him. How did she know it? Approaching the child, she handed him the apple. Taking it, he scampered back to his hiding place. For a second, Mario wondered why he did that but then like most things, disregarded it.

Walking out of the bar, they went back up on the main street of the Creepy Steeple and made their way to the elevator. Pushing the button and getting in, Mario was slightly surprised when Daisy turned to him and told him. "Mowz manipulated your image, made you a martyr."

"These people need a better class of hero," Mario gruffly told her. "When it comes down to it... the only difference between Bleck and Mowz is how you spell the name. I know you want to stop Bleck, but I maintain, this isn't our responsibility. We don't have to stop Bleck and leave, we can just leave."

"Are you sure Mario?" she asked, the disappointment in her voice was real, raw and pure. Making their way to Eve's shop, the only noise was from the outside, where the battles in the streets were raging and raging and destroying Bleck's roads. Pushing the gunsmith's door open, Mario noticed Daisy almost fall back when she saw Eve in pool of her own blood on the floor. "She's dead, Mario! This is not what I meant to happen..."

"Come on, let's leave this place," beckoned Mario. "This isn't our responsibility - none of it." Yet deep in his heart, Mario did begin to feel a weight on his shoulders. As if he should not have stepped through the portal and actually have become the man the Shy Squad made him out to be. Daisy simply nodded her head and followed Mario out into the street. They had to take back the airship manually now, and the only way to do that would be to find Mowz, who had to be at Bleck's factory. Making it out into the street, the door to Bleck's factory was being set with charges by Shy Guys. In a moment they detonated it and in a beautiful explosion of a million pieces it came apart. Walking through the front door, several Shy Guys followed Mario and Daisy. Making it on to the bridge, Mario watched as the battle between the Shy Squad and Bleck's Koopa Troopa came to a head. If the Shy Squad crossed the bridge and took out the second gigantic door, then the factory would be theirs to take. If the Koopa Troopa held them back, then Bleck would squash Mowz's revolution.

Yet the battle seemed to be overwhelmingly in the favor of the Shy Squad, they were winning simply due to sheer numbers. Each line of them that got cut down made it an inch closer and when they were too close the Koopa Troopa was downed. Eventually the Shy Squad made it to the door and began to set charges, that was until they came under fire from above. A zeppelin was firing down on them. Unless it was taken out, there was no way they could into the factory. Heating his hands, Mario mounted a cable in the sky and made for the zeppelin. Unleashing a host of fireballs, Mario broke the engine of the Zeppelin and ablaze, it descended down to the ground below, probably descending and taking its crew with it into an ocean. Heading back down, Mario dropped into the middle of a crowd chanting his name. Daisy came forth, smiling, she put her hand on his shoulder and complimented him, "That was amazing, Mario." It was a compliment of genuine joy. If they defeated Bleck, there was no way she would say no to leaving. They could go back to Dinohattan, wait for Luigi, break his curse... Mario shrugged off the thoughts, he was getting too far ahead of himself.

"Come on Daisy, let's find Mowz in the factory," Mario told her. The charges detonated and the gates flew open, with their passage granted, Mario and Daisy walked straight through into Bleck's stronghold. Several of Bleck's Koopa Troopa came under fire form the Shy Squad, they all died. Mario did not even have to raise a fireball against them, the soldiers around him were good enough. Pointing to an elevator, Mario was quick to tell Daisy, "We need to take that elevator. Mowz said she was coming for Bleck, I bet that leads to Bleck's office." The structure around the elevator was burning, but the lift itself was perfectly fine.

As they ascended, they had a perfect view of Bleck's process. Many machines being made by more machines, no man working them. Bleck was getting rid of the men who once built him and then trying to choke them. Of course then the men started to choke back. "They're just right for each other aren't they?" Daisy asked.

"Who?"

"Bleck and Mowz," she answered. "Eve... Gloomer... God, I was so set on defeating Bleck I hardly understood the consequences."

"You couldn't have known this would happen," consoled Mario.

"I had a role in this catastrophe," Daisy shook her head. "If you want to pretend we're innocents, then that's your prerogative." Almost as if on cue, the service phone rung. Hitting the speaker button, Mario answered this time.

"Bleck?" asked Mario.

"You disappeared, Mario, entered the impound. Saw it with my own eyes," responded Daisy. "Made the troopers all brain damaged. You're either an imposter or a ghost."

"I'm here for my airship," Mario flatly told her.

"Mario disappeared for the Shy Squad!" gritted Mowz, she had convinced herself of her own lie. "You're either an imposter or a ghost, I say again. I made you a hero to the cause, a story to tell children. You being here complicates the narrative." She hung up. That could not be good. Getting to Bleck's office, Mario found it in disarray but also two Shy Guys waiting for him. Perhaps Mowz' words were a prediction for the future, as they turned on him right away. Before they could get a bullet out though, Mario struck them both down with fireballs. So the Shy Squad had turned on them.

Making their way around, Mario saw a big iron door. Using his enhanced strength, he pushed it open. Bleck had to be here. It opened to a relatively small passage compared to the door. Then a large platform with gears all around that it practically looked like clockwork. The sunlight and neon lighting of the gears gave everything a very peculiar sense. Walking forward, Mario made his way to a small set of stairs. Making his way up, Mario's attention was brought to a plexiglass window when Daisy yelled out, "Mario!" There in the window was Count Bleck, backed up against it, and behind him a small boy. His son?

The window itself was connected to a tower, which had a giant clock above the window which then had sets of pressure meters by it. Evolving into twists and tubes, the tower itself became labyrinthine, a mess pretty much.

"No! Stop it!" cried Bleck. "No! No! No!" Mario approached the window, but just as he did, a gunshot rung out and Bleck's brains were splattered all over the window. The boy ran back behind the figure that committed the murder: Ms. Mowz. She took off her mask, put her hand in Bleck's blood and rubbed it on her face.

Into her radio she spoke, "Kill the imposter. Burn his body when you're done." There was another tower on the other end, Mowz would be heading there... for the boy! Realizing that, Mario smashed his way through the hordes of Shy Guys in his way. He could tolerate her killing Bleck, the Count was scum and and a monster. He deserved to die, but not his boy. He wondered if Daisy noticed the bloodshed right there? He doubt she minded either, Mowz had to be stopped, just like Bleck had.

She made it there before him. Mowz's knife was to the boy's neck and as Daisy pounded on the window, it was like it hardly fazed the revolutionary. "No! No! No!" decried Daisy. Then she turned to Mario. "She's going to kill that child, Mario! We have to do something! We have to act! We have to get in there! We've got to get in there! I can try and open a portal, distract Mowz!" Mario nodded his head as she went off to the side, focusing to open up a portal.

"Hey! Mowz!" Mario banged on the window, his enhanced strength enough to cause a crack in the window. That got her attention. "Is this it? Is this your revolution?"

"This is what needs to be done!" declared Mowz. "You see the Koopa Troopa ain't nothing but weeds. Cut them down and they grow back! If you wanna get rid of the weed, you'll have to dig out the root! It's the only way to be sure!" Daisy was behind her, she had walked through the portal. With a knife of her own, Daisy took the opportunity and stabbed Mowz in the chest, putting an end to the revolutionary. In an instant, soaked in blood, Daisy walked through the portal and back out to Mario. The child had already scampered away.

"Daisy," Mario tried to console her, extending his hand forward, but she just backed away. "Woah, hey, hey. Easy." She just turned and walked back. She made her way to the Koopa Copter and in silence, Mario followed her.


	50. Chapter 50

For a second, Mario wondered where Daisy had gone, locked herself away in the airship. Then he realized that it was in a room. "What are you doing in there?" he asked. "Listen I know how it feels. You should talk to me." She did not answer, going to the navigation controls, Mario set the course and from behind him he heard the door open. Turning aorund, he noticed her in a new dark dress with shades of yellow and cut hair. "Daisy?"

"This is all they had," she answered, in regards to the dress.

"Listen."

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Forget. Wash away the things you've done?"

"You don't. You just learn to live with it."

"So the moment of truth between us," Daisy sighed. "Bowser's Castle... or Dinohattan?" In a second they would realize that neither choice really made much of a difference. A dark form swished past the airship, causing a blur. It was that same thing that guarded Kamek Tower! It had to be! "No, no, no, no, no!" screamed Daisy.

"Shit!" swore Mario. "C'mon, we gotta find a way to make this thing go faster!" It was a desperate plea, there was no way to outrace this dragon in the sky and he knew it.

"There's got to be some sort of throttle or accelerator or something!" Daisy tried to rationalize.

"Do you know what that looks like?" panicked Mario.

"I don't know!"

"Help me find it!" It did not matter, as in a second, the dark, gloomy dragon dove face first into the airship. Grabbing the front, Mario stared it in the face before turning to Daisy. "Hang on to something!" It twisted the airship around and for a second, Mario got a chance to examine its face. Yellow spikes on its back, red yes full of hatred, a dark violet underbelly and a nearly all black reptilian face, he did not want to see this dragon's teeth. The immense velocity pushed them high up in the air for a second... and then they came crashing down... and everything went black.

* * *

When he came to, Mario heard sounds of Daisy struggling, those two... Iggy and Wendy were arguing outside! They were playing on a piano? Yeah, they were hitting some chords. Daisy sounded desperate, begging them to stop. Getting up, Mario saw that she was trying to pull a door open. Motioning her backwards, Mario easily ripped the metal door off with his enhanced strength. Iggy was on the piano, hitting random notes and Wendy was either agreeing with what he was playing or disagreeing. Desperate, Daisy ran up to them and shouted out, "Stop it! Stop it, you don't know what you're doing!" Iggy kept playing the piano though.

It seemed as if he must have hit the right set of notes, as Daisy stepped back and gasped out, "You've done it now. He's... he's coming back!" Wait, did music control the dragon?

"The notes were correct," sighed Iggy.

"The instrument was not," determined Wendy.

Turning to Daisy, Iggy, straight faced, told her, "One needs both to get his attention. If you know how to sing to him, he will take you where you need to go." Handing Mario a piece of paper, Iggy simply nodded to the Plumber. Taking a second to observe the paper, Mario and Daisy hardly noticed Iggy and Wendy start to walk away. On it was a series of musical notes, the ones used to control the dragon?

"So Bowser uses these notes. Are there others we can use?" Mario asked as Iggy opened a door. "Something to keep the dragon off our back?"

"Why don't you ask the maestro himself?" suggested Iggy, and he left. His sister was nowhere to be seen either. Pushing the piano out of their way, Mario and Daisy passed through an archway to come up on a bend. In front of them was a ledge, heading to it, Daisy pointed at a black castle in the sky.

"There's Bowser's Castle," she told him. "If we're going to find him, we better head there." At the small dock by the ledge, Mario noticed an entire squadron of troopers fill up a gondola. From what he could hear, they were afraid of the Shy Squad and were fleeing their post. He looked at Daisy, it seemed that even though Mowz was gone the Shy Guys were still continuing their rampage. Maybe they had found a new leader? That Heronicus preacher man seemed likely. Where were they going, wherever the Shy Guys were not Mario supposed. Another barge came up behind the Gondola, it was floating. A man was begging for his wife to jump there to him, the captain was begging men to throw down their belongings. In the bright of day though, the chaos did not seem too bad.

Heading up a set of stairs, Mario was actually kind of thankful that this entire district of people were leaving. It made the streets less crowded and ultimately less dangerous. There was a small garden on display, a bridge to cross the makeshift artificial waterfall. It was a good display, Mario knew. Quickly noticing some Shy Guys in the path up ahead, Mario cut around the corner and followed the flight of stairs up, cutting past the revolutionaries without them even noticing. This place was quite beautiful, Mario took a second to notice. It was almost like Versailles, or Paris... the garden, the makeshift boulders. It had a truly majestic or royal feel to it, words really could do it no honours. Up ahead was the Port Prosperity Station, with red banners waving up above it and it's own regal feel making Mario feel small, he knew that it was the only way they could go. Any other way and well they would have to answer to the Shy Squad. Opening the door to the Propserity Station manually would require the use of a large gear, that would draw attention. Luckily, Daisy was getting better at using her crystal and just started to open a portal.

"So what's about that song that calls the dragon?" asked Mario.

"I don't know, it just does," she told him while working around with the crystal. "Nine years ago I used to be excited when I heard it."

"Excited?"

"He was all I had," Daisy answered. "He fed me. He brought me books. He was my friend."

"Friend?"

"Until I wizened up," Daisy told him. "Then I hated him. He was my warden, but he's just Bowser's pet, isn't he? Just like me. Ready." The portal opened and they entered the building. It truly was a sight to behold, bodies were strewn everywhere, the lights were barely functioning. The statues of Bowser, Lena and the Koopalings were crumbling over the ground. One of the set of stairs had a massive hole through it. This place was the opposite of prosperous. "Look at all this?" Daisy gasped. "Mowz really was no better than Bleck? Was she?"

"Once people get their blood up, it isn't easy to settle it down again," said Mario.

"This is on our hands, isn't it?" asked Daisy, but it seemed more like silent contemplation. Walking through the station, Mario noticed how the place still looked glamorous even though it was all broken. The quiet, probably, gave it that allure - it was haunting sure, but like a siren. Scary but it kept drawing him in. Passing through a corridor, they exited the station and were back outside. There was a bridge taking them to the next place to go. That was when Daisy asked him, "This prophecy business, you don't think Bowser can really see the future, do you?" Mario thought about that for a second, Bowser had known things he should not have been able to know. Then again, Bowser did know Kamek and was a shadow child. There was his vision, though...

"I saw something once, when I first got here," Mario told her. "It was New York City, but everything, as If I was looking at it from above... it was burning."

"I hope no more of Bowser's magic is rubbing off on you," said Daisy. Quickly pulling Daisy, down, Mario ducked her underneath a sign. He had noticed a barge full of Shy Guys leaving. If they noticed them, the Shy Squad would stay and pursue. There was a spare Gondola, though, sneaking in and getting in there, Mario worked up the controls. This Gondola would take them straight to the Crystal Palace, the last stop before Bowser's Castle. "I just realized what Iggy and Wendy are," snapped Daisy. "They, well at least Wendy, invented the technology that allows the city to float."

"Giant balloons?" joked Mario.

"Quantum particles," she responded. "Suspended in space-time at a fixed height."

"So... not giant balloons?

"The thing is... my books said that Iggy and Wendy disappeared years ago," said Daisy. "Something tells me they're not exactly what they appear. They seem to want to help."

"They seem to be out of their minds."

As their Gondola made it closer and closer to the Crystal Palace, Mario and Daisy noticed both Iggy and Wendy at several different billboards. At each one they were doing something different. On the first, playing a piano. On the second, dancing. On the third, arguing about something mathematical. On the fourth, burning an effigy of their Uncle Spike. "How do you suppose they manage that?" asked Daisy. Their constant teleportation? Mario honestly had no clue.

"I'll get back to you after I figure out the floating city bit," responded Mario. The Gondola just about made it to a stop, stationing itself at the mouth of the Crystal Palace dock. "Come on, Bowser's Castle is just up ahead." As they exited, Daisy noticed a billboard. It was similar to the statue Mario had seen earlier, where Lena, holding a baby, stood before a bowing Daisy. Instead it was Bowser who held the child and at his feet was Daisy, holding her crystal aflame.

"The return of the king will sit down the throne and return the glory of the old world, drown in flames the glory of the new world," recited Daisy. "He was grooming me, wasn't he?"

"Bowser? Yeah, I think so."

"Then why lock me up both times?"

"I'm guessing you wouldn't want to be groomed," said Mario. "He probably was cooking something up to make you agreeable."

"Like what?"

"Let's try to not find out."

There were dead troopers here. Clearly the Shy Guys had made it here before they did and were already wreaking havoc. Thankfully there were none in sight, or else there would be quite a bit of trouble. The next bit of the Crystal Palace was similarly abandoned, looking through the store rooms there was nothing there either. Heading past a Crystal Palace restaurant, Mario noticed some Shy Guys were there looting the abandoned supplies. Heading the other way, they soon came up to a large foyer with huge support beams and a very Greek feel. Past that they must have made it to the front, there was a docking schedule written in chalk and more bodies strewn around by it. Finally they had made it to the exit. "Those turnstiles are one way," Daisy noticed. "Should we check out the bookstore before we leave?"

"Why not?" accepted Mario. Heading in, Mario noticed there was not much in there the way of weaponry. However, amidst all of the books there that Daisy had started to look at there was audio film. There was a voxophone nearby wasn't there? Heading downstairs, sure enough, Mario found one. The label marked it to be by... Wendy Koopa. Picking it up, Mario turned it on.

"The Koopa Field entangled my quantum atom with waves of light, allowing for safe measurement. Sound familiar, Iggy? That's because you were doing the same thing down in the Koopahari Desert. We used the universe as a telegraph. Switching the field on or off became dots and dashes. Dreadfully slow, but now you and I could whisper through the wall. Iggy, what father failed to understand is that our contraption is not a window into prophecy, but probability. But his connection to Kamek means the Koopa Field could become the Koopa Tear - a window between worlds. A window which will return you to your family. You will be transfused Iggy, into a new castle. Your body will reject the cognitive dissonance through confusion and hemorrhage. But we will be together and I will mend you. For what will separate us then, but power itself? We can trap the atom in mid air. Colleagues will call my Koopa Field 'Quantum Levitation', but in fact it will be nothing of the sort. Magicians levitate. My atom will simply fail to fall. If an atom can be suspended indefinitely, why not an apple, and if an apple can, why not a city? I remember that Lena seemed to believe her child would be the result of some divine blessing by Kamek. I told my poor step-mother the truth: the child is a product of blood. I think she found that less believable than her delusion. Father was made more powerful simply by touching the power in the Koopa Field. A theory: just as insanity can emphasize the traits of a person, so goes the effect of teleportation on our own. Traits emphasize, until they dissipate or become unrecognizable entirely."

Then there was another one by it. This one seemed more recent, when he tried to pick it up, Mario's hand passed through it. That was odd, lighting his hand ablaze, Mario found himself able to pick it up. Hitting the switch, he heard Wendy's voice again. This time, though, it was eerie and ethereal - almost ghostly.

"Bleck sabotaged our contraption, under orders from our own father... yet, we can still continue on in death, as Boos. A theory, we are scattered amongst space. Yet Iggy and I are together so I am content. He is not, though. The business with Daisy lies unresolved. Perhaps there is one Mario who can finish the job for us? However, Iggy presented me with an ultimatum. Either we tell Daisy the truth, or we party ways. He is my brother though, so I shall play my part knowing it will all end in tears. Our contraption shows us that the girl is the flame who will ignite both worlds. Iggy says we must undo what has been done. Time is more an ocean than a river. Why bring in a tide that will only go out?"

So they were dead. That left none of the living Koopalings loyal to Bowser. Mario remembered the Boos, small rotund ghosts. The closer they got to the afterlife, the more ghostly they got. The further they stayed away, the more human and present they seemed. It appeared that whatever their contraption was, it had allowed Iggy and Wendy to stave off being shipped to the afterlife by Luigi. There was a third voxophone, it seemed older but still probably trusty. Turning it on, Mario heard the words he feared the most.

"Morton Koopa, father, is dying. The metastasis has aged him so quickly. Why does King Morton Koopa decay, while Bowser grows more and more fit? If genetics are destiny, what accounts for the difference? Perhaps exposure to the contraption? It warrants further study."

So it finally became clear. Although King Koopa, Bowser's normal human looking form, was dying, Bowser, his reptilian, lizard form was growing more and more alive. Was Bowser truly and finally losing all his connections as a man and becoming a real monster? King Koopa had lost his family, and now he was losing whatever was left of his shadowy humanity. Nodding to Daisy, they headed out of the bookstore, into the exit corridor and passed through the turnstiles. "These lock when we pass through, we wont be able to return," said Daisy. Mario only grunted in response. It was a short hallway to the elevator. As the neared the lift though, Daisy grabbed Mario's hand and put her finger to her lips. Suddenly a steam statue began to play some music, from pipes. Looking out the window, suddenly dust fell down from the roof and on their heads. Ducking down below a desk, Mario heard a thunderous roar, flapping of wings, a crash - peeking up, he saw the dragon's hideous face looking into the hallway. Pushing its head through the window, the dragon tried to get a better look. When it did not see either Mario or Daisy, it pulled its head out and flew away. They were safe, for now. Daisy rushed for the elevator and hit the call button and turned around when Mario came back. "Promise me," she said.

"I will stop him."

"That's not enough," she took his hands and put them on her neck. "Promise me that you will not let him take me back." Quickly pulling his hands away, all Mario could do was promise.

"It will never come to that."

Getting in the elevator, Mario hit the button and they began to descend. From their view, they could see Shy Guys firing on two or three barges full of the Koopa Troopa. "The Shy Guys are tearing this place apart," remarked Daisy. Suddenly, a volley from one the Troopa's barges hit the lines just above the elevator. For one second, their lift came to a startling halt. Then it hung precariously. The Shy Guys, aimed at them now began to fire their way. Getting down, Mario and Daisy were prone for a second as the bullets flew overhead them. Smashing a hole through the elevator floor, Mario saw a cable below. Grabbing Daisy and heating his hand, he rode on the cable to get away from the gunfire. Making their way past the Shy Guys and the Koopa troopers, Mario and Daisy landed swiftly under them. They were all crowded on the balcony shooting at the Troopa's barges, allowing them to make their way up a set of stairs and through a door to safety.

The building they were now in was just another branch of the massive Crystal Palace. Unlike the main palace though it was not broken, wrecked or damaged. There were no internal signs of battle. It was dark though, it had clearly lost power. The carpets were blue and seemed darker without any light. "We need to go back outside to get to Bower's House, Mario," said Daisy.

"Wait, what you said back before the elevator," Mario grabbed her arm.

"Let's not discuss it," she suggested.

"No," said Mario. "What did that dragon do to you?"

"If it were to take me back... that's death," decided Daisy. "Or something so like it I can't tell the difference." They waited for a little bit, there were some explosions and the fighting seemed to die down. As they heard the Shy Guys reenter the Crystal Palace from the balcony, they knew who had won and quickly exited. Walking to the exit, Mario pushed open the gates and the two made their way out. The street was abandoned, wagons, bottles and papers flooded the street. No Koopa was left. There were some distinct red banners all over the place though. "Look at those, seems like the Shy Squad have chosen their favorite colour."

"Seems about right."

"What a waste," spat Daisy as they entered an open city square. There was another small dock, more and more winding stairs, stores and roads to homes. There was one sign that would take them to Bowser's Castle: downtown. "How's the city going to come back from this?"

"Maybe it shouldn't."

Heading up the stairs, the two went to downtown Delfino Isle - one step closer to Bowser's Castle. Downtown was in worse condition than the rest of Delfino Isle, the stores were all looted, innocents were cowering in fear behind their blinds... it was horrible. "You know," started Daisy, "I keep thinkin of that dream you had. The one with New York City on fire... there's something about it..." No idea what to say, Mario just stayed silent. Soon they were at a block called the 'King Koopa Victory Square' where in the middle was a giant statue of Bowser in his dinosaur form. Up a huge set of stairs was a wall and a gate. "Beyond that gate lies Bowser's Castle." By Bowser's statue were some candles and a sigil to Lena. By the gate there was a robot, which took one look at Daisy and then spoke.

"Ah! Lady Lena, how lovely to make your acquaintance!" the robot said. Lena? What? Daisy didn't even look like her. "Wonderful of you to make the journey, especially considering your painful death twelve years ago!"

"Lena?" asked Mario.

Turning around, Daisy told him, "This dress, the robot identified it as belonging to her. It's mistaking me for that witch." Putting her hands on the fingerprint scanner, Daisy quickly realized that it would not work.

"Your fingerprints aren't working, are you unwell Lady Lena?"

"This won't work," sighed Daisy.

"Lena's been dead since that first adventure," reminded Mario.

"Time to go pay our respects," instructed Daisy. "Let's head to where she's buried. There's a graveyard where she's buried, not far from here." One of the houses that they passed was completely obliterated, as if the dragon had taken its frustrations out on it. Passing through a stone archway, they entered the graveyard and Daisy pointed to a crypt. "It's in there!"

"Where are you going?"

"Come on!"

"What are we looking for?"

"It's over there!" shouted Daisy. The gate to the crypt had no lock, they could just open it.

"It's Lena's grave," Mario sighed.

"They have her preserved in an airtight chamber, her fingerprints will get us in," insisted Daisy.

"She was skewered."

"Then collected by Kamek."

"Take a moment and think about this," suggested Mario, but she did not. Pushing the door open, they both entered and there in the center lay Lena. Mario remembered her, she was like a wild beast. Wild, fierce and provocative. Quite opposite to what he remembered of Bowser. Mario grabbed Daisy's shoulder, still not wanting to desecrate the dead. Her body, it was not destroyed like Mario had heard it had been. Whoever this Kamek was, he must have patched it back together.

"How are you in there, Lena?" mocked Daisy. "All locked up, it looks like we finally have some common ground."

"Let me do it," suggested Mario.

"No."

"Let me do it," Mario insisted. As he went to open the coffin though, all the lights in the crypt turned off, leaving a strange red glow come from the entrance. Dust fell from the ceiling.

"You see, child?" asked Bowser's voice over the speakers. "You follow the Plumber and he has led you astray!" Suddenly, immaterial lights - where did they come from?. These lights began to flow in from all directions into Daisy. Writhing in pain, Daisy's screams barely let Mario hear Bowser over the intercoms. "What I do, I do for love! What the Boolossus has given me will let the lion see the cub in pain!"

"Make it stop!" screamed Daisy. "Mario! Make it stop!" He wanted to, but he had no idea how to.

"If you will not listen to me," sighed Bowser. "Perhaps you will listen to Lena." Suddenly all the light left Daisy in a ball, went and floated over Lena's corpse and exploded. When light returned to his vision, Mario saw flying corpse above Daisy on her knees. Just like in the statue. Then the ghost, some strange Boo Mario figured, disappeared.

"Daisy?" Mario grabbed her shoulder. "What kind of Boo is Lena?"

"One powered by the crystal! He used my powers to reanimate her!" croaked Daisy.

Walking out of the crypt, they were stopped dead in their tracks by the phantom of Lena, which had several other ghostly soldiers with her. All Boos would go to Luigi, decided Mario. Fireballs in hands, Mario kept on spraying at Lena's ghostly henchmen but they kept coming back! He had to deal with her directly. The ghost thugs kept getting in the way though! In his rage, Mario launched a massive fireball through the soldiers and directly at Lena. Stunned, she wobbled back and forth. Here was his chance! Jumping towards her, he lit his hand ablaze and punched through her throat - dropping the ghost.

Looking to his side, there were Iggy and Wendy digging two graves. It was their own Mario realized, walking over to them he saw their coffins peak out.

"What was she?" Daisy asked.

"Why do you always ask what?" Iggy asked Daisy.

"You should ask why," suggested Wendy. "The only difference between shadow and light is... semantics."

"If we could perceive father as he truly is," shrugged Iggy. "What reason would we have had to assist you?" Hearing a scurrying behind him, Mario looked to see the body of Lena was gone, it had ran off somewhere!

"We have to find her!" said Daisy. "Convince her to open the gate!" For once, Iggy and Wendy followed the two. They were Boos themselves, and only when their traitorous father was dead would they have rest. As they approached the gate to get out, Iggy and Wendy blocked their way.

"It's a shame you need her help," Iggy sighed.

"She doesn't seem cooperative," agreed Wendy.

"Maybe you can reason her with truths? Truths which Bowser has destroyed... if only one of you can reach through time," sighed Iggy and they disappeared as ghosts are to do.

They had no idea what to make of that, but they just followed the ghostly footprints. The first one led them through the marketplace and too a small mansion. Pushing open the lobby door, Mario noticed some sort of contraption in the back rom of the mansion. Making their way there, they were stunned by a giant electrical machine. Still operating through all this chaos, it must have had a backup generator. Wires went all around the house and such.

"I can open a tear in time there, a portal to the... past I think," said Daisy. Nodding, Mario watched as she pointed her crystal at the middle of the machine. They could get a brief glimpse of a scene that occurred in the past. The long distant past, this had to be what? So many years ago to say the least. From the scene, Mario could tell it was in Dinohattan. There Lena entered the room, and Wendy was there too... she was young in it, a teenager. The scene ended with Lena slapping Wendy. "So she was always a cruel bitch." Leaving the long deceased Wendy's mansion home, Mario and Daisy were back on the streets, following more footprints. A photography studio seemed to be their next destination, almost right away Daisy identified where she could dig up the history lesson from. There was the photographer in the memory and in entered two Boos, not dissimilar to the ones they had seen when leaving Ghost Island. In a stunning display, they morphed into Iggy and Wendy. "I don't think that this is the real... Lena. I think this ghost, this strange Boo, is a combination of herself and my feelings towards her," said Daisy.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just so angry at her and Bowser," explained Daisy, "I think she's her, but also partly me. I'm not sure I even understand it myself." Walking back out, they continued to follow the ghostly footprints, which took them right into the financial district. The largest building there? The Bank of Bowser. "What could this place have to do with Lena?" Daisy thought aloud. Suddenly, it seemed as if the plants in the bank grew a little bit, but when Mario looked at them he realized they were all the same. There were four dead men in a hallway, the lights in it were flickering. Practically out of a horror movie. Walking in to the bank's main hall, there were a few Shy Guys there. Only about four, so it was no problem, not all hard for Mario to take out. Most of the lights in the bank were fused or shot, but there were some red and green ones still active. Likely by a backup generator. Heading into the safety deposit boxes, they found the footprints again, taking them into the bankers' offices. This led them straight to what seemed to be a worship room: there were three statues, with flames in her crystal was Daisy, behind her was Bowser and behind Bowser an Emperor Palpatine-looking hooded man. In front of them Daisy identified the location of the third and final memory. Final? How did she know it was the final one? This memory was of... Bleck and Bowser, the latter explaining to his right hand man how his own children had betrayed him, how he needed them dead... all for the child? Who was the child. Then the memory closed.

So that was that then. Walking back, Mario and Daisy began to head out of the bank. There were no more Shy Guys, they had probably moved their assault elsewhere. Motioning Daisy to follow, Mario headed back there. He swore he could hear Boo Lena shouting 'Junior' or something. "He killed them... Roy, Iggy and Wendy," said Daisy. "Three of his own children and me... just a specimen to be prodded."

"No... you're not," said Mario. "Daisy, listen to me. What you've been through, nobody in both our worlds deserves that."

"Mario..."

"Look, I am getting you out of here," said Mario. "You're never going to have look back."

Nowhere else to go, Mario quickly traversed back to the gates to Bowser's Castle. By Bowser's statue, where a memorial to Lena was set up, there was a picture of the witch as well. In anger, Daisy picked it up and started to yell at it. "You ruined my life! You ruined their lives yet he killed all of you! You hate me for being his obsession, I hate you for only furthering it!" She must have said something right, after all, the wind picked up, leaves began flying and the Boo of Lena howled into the sky before taking another corporeal form in front of Daisy. Pouncing on Daisy, Lena probably would have killed her right there had Mario not unleashed a fireball with the power of a cannonball. That must have damaged Lena's ghost because she began to swirl around the statue of Bowser in a demented fashion. "I owe you an apology," said Daisy. "Bowser used me to bring you back... but I brought back a version of you from my own head. He pretended to love you, like he pretended to love his children. I am not Bowser's tool, I am his victim! My days of victimhood are done, we must forgive each other!"

That must have resonated with Lena, in a resounding scream the Boo aimed for the gate and blew it up. His eyes widened, Mario was left speechless.

Nodding at Daisy, here they were... the moment of truth. On to Bowser's Castle. Passing through the gates, Mario noticed the massive bridge to get to the castle, black storm clouds were passing through it. From beyond the bridge Mari could see the black entrance to Bowser's Castle, giant statuesque faces - normal Bowser on the left, the hooded man in the middle and lizard Bowser on the right. Walking forward, Mario noticed two giant and thick cables descending down and a lever right in front of him. No way he could ascend up those, they were too big and there was no way he could get the momentum. Just as he pulled the lever for the cable car, the dragon swooped up from above and before he could react, it had Mario pinned down to the ground. "Mario!" screamed Daisy.

"Run Daisy!" ordered Mario. The dragon peered at him curiously for a second, then grabbed him and through him backwards above the archway and straight into a window.

Everything went black.


	51. Chapter 51

Everything was grey as Mario got off the floor. Where was he? Yes, his office... back in New York City. Leaning against a shelf was... Daisy. In front of his door were... Iggy and Wendy. "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt" - they were all saying it, Iggy, Wendy and Daisy, all in unison. They weren't letting him out, they weren't budging. He didn't feel as if he had the strength to move them, he had to get out. There was a shuffling noise in the background, in his backroom. Groggily walking there, Mario pushed the door open and a flash of white engulfed him. The last thing he heard was himself, whispering "Peach".

* * *

As he came to, Mario noticed the chandelier above him waving, swinging precariously. Then it dropped, glass and lightning flashing everywhere. Suddenly there was a giant crack in the circular roof, and that came crashing down as well as the dragon peered in looking for him. Then it jumped in. Damn, it was massive. It raised its claw to strike him down... but Daisy ran in between them and put her arms up in surrender.

"Stop! Stop it!" she begged. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Just don't hurt him!" The dragon just brushed her aside though, readied its claws and made the strike... but stopped just short of Mario's face. A blast of harmless wind did hit him though. Was this a show of power? No compassion. Daisy was touching its hand. "I never should have left... I never should have left. Take me back... take me back..." Then she hugged it, with a grimace on her face... but it hugged her back. "Take me home, please?" Holding her in its hand, the dragon started to fly away... but she extended her arm out to him, and Mario tried to grab it... but he was a second too late and she was gone.

"DAISY!" screamed Mario. He had to catch up to her. Jumping out of the hole in the wall, Mario landed back on the bridge. All of the bridge's other segments were raised horizontally. The lever was broken, but he was strong enough. Mario punched the first segment, and it fell into place. So did the other one, and lightning struck. It kept striking, but the closer he got, the louder the dragon's roars got. More lightning, louder roars. Yet Mario kept running. More and more segments fell. "Come after me if you want!" Mario screamed at the dragon. "I'm not letting you take her! You hear me you flying motherfucker? I'm not going to!" Then the fog engulfed him and it all went white.

* * *

Mario just kept running though, he would not let the dragon stop him! Then the fog cleared though and he found himself and the rest of the bridge covered in snow. From the left snow was pouring in, right behind him it seemed like the blizzard was worse and he had just gotten past the worst part. "Snow? It's not that time of year," remarked Mario. Yet everything was covered in it, the rest of the bridge was padded in it. The sky was white of it, it was beautiful to look at, if not eerie. The entrance to Bowser's Castle was illuminated with yellow welcoming light. Running forth, Mario knew that this strange weather had to be just another trick of Bowser to stop him. "Daisy? Can you hear me?" he shouted. As he ascended up the first flight of stairs, there was a wavy portal in front of him.

"Get your hands off of me! Just take me back to Kamek Tower! Please!" came a voice from the portal. Then the portal got smaller, then it closed. Up the next flight of stairs no snow reached and the support beams were lined with candles. Pushing the wooden door open, Mario entered Bowser's Castle. There was a polished marble flow, the only light was from candles... everything seemed dim but not dull. The carpet in front of him was blue and lined with white stripes. There was another portal inside, in the middle of the carpet. "Please! Please!" came her voice from the portal. What was happening?

There were white double doors in front of him, pushing them open, Mario nearly fell back by what he saw. He was in a giant chamber, fully illuminated but snow was still falling in through an open roof. It was beginning to pile up by the support beams and the small steps at the back of the room. There was a frozen pool of water but right behind it: a statue of Daisy hoisting her crystal up in the sky in a position of power. There was no mistaking it for Daisy, it even had her short hair... yet Mario could not help but ask aloud, "Is that?" Then he was truly scared, as a recording came on the PA system and this was not just any recording, it was of Daisy. What was happening? "What the Hell?" was all he could say while listening to it.

"_Some mend dream of money. Some dream of love. Bowser dreamed of a flood of fire. We were given Delfino Isle and we turned it into Dinohattan. Why do we deserve salvation? Kamek gave Bower a bird in the form of Gloomtail, but he was not so easy on me... he said: Prophet, I want you to train a nation of dragons._"

What was happening? Above the statue was the caption, in neon letters: 'Our Lady Daisy - Kamek Speed Thy Judgment'. What kind of trick was this? What did Bowser hope to achieve? As he walked up the stairs and behind the statue, Mario heard Daisy's voice again... but from the distance. "What is this place? What are you planning on doing to me?" she asked... someone. Running, Mario pushed open another set of white double doors. "Please! I don't understand!" she wailed and started to scream. Mario was stopped in his tracks. Looking curiously at him was a man in white robes, with a pointy white hat extending to his back. This man's eyes were covered with giant shiny glasses and the rest of his face with white makeup. Daisy continued to scream and Mario ran on past that jester looking... Magikoopa, somehow the name felt familiar to him. "Please! Please! No, no, no, no! Just tell me what I did! Please!" They were torturing her! Mario ran past another Magikoopa who was struggling on a wheelchair. What kind of a place was this? Another Magikoopa was on the ground, holding its head and then there was one more looking around, a light coming out of its glasses. Suddenly, it set its sights on Mario and screamed out loud and for a second, Mario thought he heard a loud explosion and it was as if all the light in the room got sucked out.

One of the other Magikoopas screamed out, another yelled for the girl to stop screaming, but they all charged at Mario. Letting out a circular wave of fire around him, Mario quickly incapacitated them all. "Please! Please! Just tell me what I did! Please... please! No! No!" Daisy kept on screaming and it was all because of him, because he couldn't grab on when she told him to. "Please! Please, just let me go! I'll be your weapon! I'll be... I'll be your weapon. Please." The screams were coming from the rehabilitation center, but it was locked.

"Dammit!" Mario yelled, he needed to find a way in. Right next to it was an intercom, for the warden! He hit and quickly said out, "Listen, I want to see the girl!" In response he got a maddening howl from the intercom. "Who were those... doesn't matter, I've got to get to the warden's office." The sign on the door told him the warden's office was on the third floor, right behind him was an elevator. As he got in it, he heard Daisy talking to someone.

_"Please, just let me go back to my tower."_

_"It's too late for that, child," said the man. "Bowser gave you a lovely home and you chose to destroy it."_

_"He is a murderer!"_

Getting in the elevator, Mario found... a voxophone. This would give him answers, there was no label on it. Who was it from? He turned it on and it was from... Daisy?

"_I suppose the Siphon is some sort of leash. Yes, Bowser put it on me, but when the time came neither did I remove it myself. What would happen if I took off the leash and found I was as obedient as ever?_"

That gave no answers. Feeling angry, Mario threw it to the ground and the power broke it. Ascending, when Mario got out he crossed a small bridge and found another maddened Magikoopa at the door. Then Daisy's voice came on the PA system again:

_"Like Bowser, I could see all that would be, might be and cannot be."_

There were more maddened Magikoopas in the room, dazed and confused - lunatics. Then that one... special one noticed him and all went to Hell as they all tried to attack him. These men were clearly not right in the head and Mario did not want to hurt them, but they would not stop him. There was another portal nearby, Mario looked into it and heard Bowser with Daisy, but saw nothing.

_"Would you like to pray with me?"_

_"They're hurting me! Just let me go!"_

_"We're going to cure you."_

_"I'm not sick!"_

_"Your spirit is. All I want is for you to live up to your potential."_

Then the portal closed. Taking a turn right, Mario found himself going down another hallway. Everything about this castle was horrible. It was ruined, in disarray, beyond repair. Was this supposed to be a hospital for the mentally ill? If it was, it had failed... spectacularly. There was another portal there. There was that voice he heard with Daisy before in this one.

_"I'm Dr. Crygor Daisy, I'll be taking care of you."_

_"Get away."_

_"Defiant, even after all this time. Mario left you here. You need to give up on him."_

_"He will come."_

Walking into what he thought was probably a psychiatric care ward, Mario noticed part of the wall was just ripped off and snow was billowing in. The beds were damaged and the sheets were so wet they seemed like they could spill apart. There were more Magikoopas in there, and two that were looking around. As soon as one noticed him, Mario hid behind a crumbling support beam. He had no desire to fight them. The Magikoopa looked at the beam for a second, and then looked away. It did not scream. Sneaking past it, Mario found himself at the feet of yet another portal. It was a conversation between Dr. Crygor and Doopliss it seemed.

_"The specimen needs to be destroyed Doopliss! We couldn't even hold her in the tower and now Bowser..."_

_"Destroy her? Destroy the Lamb? He needs her to ensure the future of his heir."_

_"If we modify the procedure, we could. It would be safer for everyone, it would seem an accident."_

Walking past it, Mario noticed in front of him a set of twin stairs heading up somewhere. Another open ceiling and snow kept falling in, it was cold here. Were the ceilings always open? Snow likely could have played a part to the ruination of this place. Bad design choice? There were two hallways blocked by rubble, but Mario noticed a portal at the end of one. He knew he would not like what he heard, but he went anyways and found a conversation between Doopliss and Daisy.

_"You're not eating, Daisy? Is something the matter?"_

_"I'm not hungry."_

_"You have to eat sooner or later, if you hold out for Mario you will starve to death. Come now..."_

What were these portals implying? Were the messages Daisy was opening for him, telling him what would happen in the future? What was happening? Mario ran up the set of stairs and another Daisy message played on the PA.

_"What did Kamek receive in return for his gifts? Mario and his wrench? Luigi and Rool? Humanity wrote a bad check, and I was the only way to settle all accounts. For what is Delfino Isle, if not a different warship for a different time?"_

As he proceeded down his path, there was once more another portal. This time a conversation between Doopliss and Bowser.

_"The child is ready, Doopliss. It's time."_

_"King Koopa, even if we can cure her. What makes you think she'll do what you ask?"_

_"She has two problems, Doopliss. One is the condition that you and your scientists will cure her of, the other affliction is of a spiritual nature."_

_"What affliction is that?"_

_"Hope."_

In the next room, there were several busts, wigs and mannequins all strewn around. There were Shy Guy masks, Bowser masks and the Magikoopa glasses. As expected, there was another portal, this one detailing a conversation between Crygor and Daisy.

_"Your surgery is tomorrow, Daisy. You better eat. You still expect Mario to burst in and rescue you? Don't you see? It's been six months!"_

Six months? What? No. That was impossible. How long was he on that damn bridge for? There was another voxophone by his feet. Would this one make him angry as well? He played it, it was Daisy.

_"Our minds are festering with sin. Some are so blighted they will never find redemption. The mind will be pulled up from the roots. Bowser Secondus is without fault, without blame - and without choice. For what is the value of will when the spirit is found wanting?"_

Bowser Secondus? Sin? The Daisy he knew would never give up on redemption. She would never start to value the ideals of Bowser over free will! Never! This voxophone he did not smash on the ground, no, he crushed it in his hands. He moved on a little bit, but there, by a bust of Bowser was one more voxophone. He knew this one would make him angry too, but he had to hear it. He hit play and stepped back, he didn't need to break this one too.

_"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt. But in the end he is the one who will have to pay down all our accounts, won't he? Where does his guilt start... and mine end?"_

What was she talking about, did he not rescue her? When was he? How long did it take him to cross the bridge? He looked at his hands, he was the same age. Why was she talking as if years or months or whatever had passed. Was time moving faster than he was? Walking, slowly, into the next room, Mario saw more and more busts but in this one a projector was playing against a screen. The PA started to play again, Daisy's voice was so haunting.

_"A man once promised me he would free me of my chains but in the end he abandoned me to serve his own selfish needs. In some ways, I thank him. He showed me exactly how much faith our species deserved. Kamek put his faith in Koopas once, too. It seemed that we have something in common: disappointment. I did not always love Bowser. In truth, I ran from his embrace. I even denied the right to train Bowser Secondus. I followed a man who seemed to be everything Bowser was not. That man was the Plumber and when Gloomtail came for me, he was nowhere to be found."_

As he looked around the room, Mario realized that this was some sort of indoctrination room. Bowser must have prepared this room to try and indoctrinate, or it was where he did indoctrinate, Daisy. What the hell kind of experiments did he run in this building? There was another voxophone, Mario hit play.

_"As days pass, I believe less in God and more in Iggy and Wendy. My powers shrivel as my regrets blossom. All of this because Bowser failed me. By the time I realized how far I'd gone, it was too late to stop it. There is still one chance at redemption - for both of us."_

He was at least six months into the future. Something with Daisy's powers must have sent him at least six months in the future, or maybe even more. The portals were telling him how Daisy became the way she had... Bowser's pawn. The PA, who she was now, her new public personality as Bowser's weapon. The voxophones her true feelings. He had failed her. He could still save her, he had to.

There was another hole in the wall, jumping through it Mario saw the sign for the Warden's office. Things started to look much more clean and kept up around here, this area was well furbished it seemed. There were more twin stairs, likely the ones that led to the office. Some lights still flickered, but there was not even a scratch on some walls. The benches were all neat and the lockers all ordered. Were the Magikoopas too scared to come up here? Walking up the staircase, Mario made his way to a set of security cameras. There was no guard here, just a bunch of black and white live video feeds keeping eyes on the Magikoopas. Maybe if they had actual guards... there was the switch though, to open the room to where that Dr. Crygor and Doopliss held Daisy. On the chair in front of the feeds was another voxophone.

_"What I've done... cannot be undone... I cannot stop... what I've put in motion. Perhaps... I can keep it from ever starting. He was my first hope, and now he is my last."_

Mario pulled the switch and all the feeds turned to static, but the one feed showed the door opening. Yet he was sure that the door opened. He had to get there and stop Crygor and Doopliss! There was another elevator back at the end of this level, that would have to take him down. Turning around, Mario was face to face with a Magikoopa. Had it followed him there? It screamed, it felt dark and Mario was paralyzed like a bomb was about to go off if he moved. The others would come soon, but Mario could not move, so he listened to the PA announcement. It would make him angry.

_"I am here to finish Bowser's work! As he baptized me with water I will baptize the mammal world below with fire! Prepare for the coming of Kamek. Are worth saving if we will not save ourselves? There will be no salvation until fire floods the cities and covers the plains. Once this world has been born again, a million others await their turn. Baptisim is the rebirth of the spirit, but sometimes the mind gets in the way. If the mind will not yield, then you must subject the mind to every version of itself. Either the mind will yield, or be reduced to a blank."_

Slowly regaining his courage, Mario punched it in the face before the others could swarm him. Looking down at the balcony, though, they were coming. They no longer feared this place. Heading for the elevator, Mario barely made it before them and hit the switch as they banged on the walls after him. Crumpling to the side, he noticed a voxophone by him and hit play.

_"Tomorrow, the leash comes off because all this has to end. Even if I destroy the Siphon, will I be strong enough to see all those portals and open whichever I choose? If I bring him here, who is to say he will be any match for any of the monsters I have created?"_

Mario sobbed and for the first time in a long time he had cried. He was crying. How long? How long did Daisy wait before finally giving in to become Bowser's bullet? As the elevator came to a stop outside the open door, Mario wiped away his tears and got up. He had to do this fast now, he had already delayed long enough. Mario ran, he ran like he had never run before. It was time to rescue Daisy. Running through the hospital wards, the cots, the indoctrination rooms and everything - he ran. It seemed like a second, even the Magikoopas marveled at his speed.

As soon as he was back on the ground floor, the screaming of Daisy came back to his ears. Maybe, maybe everything above was ripped from different points in time? Maybe their torture was causing her to distort the time of the castle? It seemed possible. After all, maybe everything above was from a time where he did not rescue here. Maybe that was all from a future where turned back! Running through the room, Mario nearly dropped to his feet. No. All of that screaming... all of that, was just coming from another portal? Another tear in space. Behind it... were Iggy and Wendy. "What?" he asked them.

"Why do you ask what?" asked Iggy.

"When the delicious question is when?" asked Wendy.

"Lives. Lived. Will live."

"Dies. Died. Will die."

The lights kept flickering and in the flickering of the lights, the ghosts disappeared. Entering the next room, Mario noticed howling and screaming, from the Magikoopas, coming from a door adjacent to him. Next to him though was a staircase, and at the top of it... a woman. There was ice on the stairs, and Mario nearly slipped getting up, but he was finally there. There to rescue her.

"As you can see, Mario," she said, her voice hoarse and ragged. "The lunatics are running the asylum. They don't even listen to me anymore." She was standing on a balcony, the light causing her to look like a silhouette. What was wrong with her voice? "All I can do is watch as what I set into motion slides into its terminal stage. It took all I had left in me, just to bring you here." What was she talking about?

"Daisy! I don't understand," Mario told the darkened figure he knew to be the princess. "I heard you screaming, I was... I was coming to get you! Are we?" He had no idea what to say, but she did.

"Here," she said, calmly. "Take my hand." Reaching forward, she bent over and grabbed his hand and helped pull him up to the balcony. When he saw what she was watching though, he nearly fell back down. New York City, under attack from Delfino Isle. The city was burning, volleys of flame and power being shunted to Manhattan and Brooklyn. It was destroying perhaps one of the most recognizable cities in the world and with relative ease. "The return of the king will sit down the throne and return the glory of the old world, drown in flames the glory of the new world," she sighed. "Say what you will about Bowser, but he predicted your return to New York accurately." That hit Mario like a hammer, he had returned to New York and now it was burning, because of him? He was the king? Then Mario looked at Daisy and for the second time, he nearly fell over again. She was around eighty years old? How far into the future had he come? What had happened? He felt his eyes well up in tears. "It wasn't the torture that broke me," she explained. "It wasn't the indoctrination. It was time. Time rots everything, Mario. Even hope."

"I was coming," Mario barely managed to get out.

"Gloomtail," she explained. "He always stops you."

"Yes," Mario agreed. "But I would find a way."

"No," she shook her head. "It's too late for me. I brought you here for your sake. Yours and hers. Here." She handed him a card, the tears flowed freely from his eyes as he took it. As he saw the destruction of New York City, all because he came back.

"What is this?"

"It's for her," she told him. "She'll know how to read it."

"What does it say?"

"It's advice."

"Advice on what?"

"How not to become me."

Older Daisy waved her arms and white light surrounded Mario, but he saw glimpses. Glimpses of what occurred, what would occur if he did not rescue Daisy. Glimpses of the dragon Gloomtail stopping him every time he got close, Luigi becoming as bloodthirsty and powerful as Rool and a glimpse of... Peach? Was she happy?

* * *

As the world equalized, Mario found himself in a room with two sofas, music playing and sunlight glowing. Mario looked at the phonograph, it was resting atop a small cupboard. Nothing seemed broken, Bowser's Castle seemed to be in... tip top condition. Was he back, back to his own time? Mario turned around, the balcony where the older Daisy was standing was restored. No snow. He turned around, the floor was nicely carpeted, the lights were illuminating and welcoming. "I'm back," grinned Mario and he walked down the steps. He doubted Bowser's Castle really changed its design that much, the operating theatre would be not far. Rushing for the operating theatre, Mario began to run. Then he heard Daisy's screams, the same ones he heard from the portal in the future... the same ones from when they were operating on her. "Daisy!" yelled Mario and he kicked the double doors in front of him down.

Doopliss and Dr. Crygor were in the operating room with her. "You two upstairs!" Doopliss ordered two orderlies. "If she gets ornery, shock her!" They were torturing her to prep her for their operation. "She opens one portal and there will be no regrets!"

"Bowser!" roared Mario. "What are you doing to her? Let her be!"

"Mario!" came the surprised response. Heading down the stairs, the plumber headed off to the side and followed the machines' wires into a side room that let him up to an observation deck. "What's the expression, day late and a dollar short?" Taking one glance at Daisy, Mario saw her thrashing around. There was still time. Two orderlies awaited him, they were downed by fire.

"Can't we give her something to quiet her down?" asked Dr. Crygor.

"No, Bowser says half the procedure is pain," denied Doopliss.

"When the body cries out, the spirit listens," agreed Crygor.

"Do you hear that screaming, Mario?" taunted Bowser. "You led her to temptation and that is the sound of your interference!"

Continuing to follow the wires, Mario fought and took down more orderlies. Then there he found it, the generator. a scientist was at one. Throwing the man the away, Mario pulled the lever's generator. The lights in the theatre flashed.

"She is not your weapon!" Mario roared.

"He's shut down one of the generators," panicked Crygor.

"Maybe not today," agreed Bowser. "Trust me when I tell you, she will be!"

"We are not shutting down a generator!" cried Doopliss.

Mario was already following the second set of wires, more and more orderlies tried to stop him. Without powers like his, though, they were nothing but cannon fodder design to slow him down. There was no way that they were stopping him. They were not able to stop him, and Mario quickly turned off the other generator. He looked through the window at the operating theatre.

"He's shut down the other generator," whimpered Crygor.

"Oh, no, not again," sighed Doopliss.

Mario looked at Daisy, she had gotten up but the crystal was not there, but then it was. She had summoned it. A massive portal opened up and sucked in Doopliss, Crygor and the operating equipment. The damage to the theatre was significant, but she was safe. "Daisy, I'll be right there!" he shouted. Heading back down to the Operating Theatre, Mario helped raise her from the operating chair. She was wearing a corset, they had removed the dress... and there was a pump attached to her spine. Grabbing it, Mario pulled it out. She gasped, convulsed for a second but then equalized. Walking over, she grabbed her dress and fitted it on over the corset. Passing her the card from the future, all Mario could say was, "I think someone wanted you to have this."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Just read it."

She read for a second and then spoke. "Your dream of New York City burning... happens," she said. "It's me... I'm the one who..."

"She gave me a way past Gloomtail," Mario told her. "We can find an airship and we can get out of here."

"Mario..."

"Dinohattan Daisy, it's your home! They're your people."

"We're not leaving."

"Why?"

"You saw what he turns me into."

"You're going to kill him?"

"Is this where you start moralizing?"

"I'm not going to let you kill him."

"What are you going to do to stop me?"

"Not a damn thing."

"His zeppelin's outside. Let's go."

"When did you learn that."

"I've been here for a while."

"How long?"

"Doesn't matter."

Piling into an elevator at the far end of the room, for the first time Mario really noticed how beautiful Bowser's Castle was. Not like the nightmarish house of horrors it would become in the future, Bowser's Castle truly was a work of art. Glorious architecture, magnificent paintings and beautiful statues. It was a shame really, that it was the nesting place of such evil. Even this elevator was glorious, red walls plated with gold. Magnificent, but villainous. Man, that sucked.

"This doesn't make any sense," said Daisy and she pointed to the card. "Everything here is a cipher that I understand, except for this symbol. It's a cage. Did she say anything about it?"

"No."

Peeking on to the rooftops, they noticed that this room was now in disarray. Wind gusting in to it, Mario and Daisy ran out and exited and she pointed it out for him: Bowser's Flagship. A giant and mighty vessel. "Oh Mario," said Bowser, where was his voice coming from. "You struggle against prophecy, like a stone loosed from a string. How thrilling the launch, how breathtaking the apex and how dreadful the descent... as gravity drags you to the inevitable." Scouring the rooftops, they got a view of all of Delfino Isle right there. Above they could see the beautiful homes, shops and plazas built for the Koopas and then below Twilight Town and the Creepy Steeple for the Kremlings and Toads. The land of Piantas it was indeed. "Look at all this," implored Bowser. "I built all this for you to lead. What has Mario ever done for you? To him you are but a means to an end."

The flagship was flying away, but a smaller airship detached full of troopers to try and stop them. Docking next to an already stationed airship, Mario easily took them down and boarded their ship.

"Do you think we can redeem what we've done?"

"Redeem? I don't see much use in that."

"Mario... are you afraid of God?"

"No, I'm afraid of you."

For a second it was like she had no idea how to respond to that, so as they flew, they did in silence.

"There it is, fly us under the flagship and we'll make our way up to him."

"Or, we can just fly to Dinohattan."

"Drop me off if you want to, this isn't your problem, Mario."

"No, I'm not abandoning you." Pulling the lever, he and Daisy began their ascent to the flagship and to destiny. As they neared, Daisy pointed out the cables all around the flagship.

"Look at Mario, child," thundered Bowser's voice. "There's something about him that you just can't put your finger on. Soon you'll understand the shadow I am and the man he is."

Walking through the Hold of the airship, Mario could hear the troopers above him. They needed to get to the next level fast if they wanted to avoid the fight. There were several pods on the cables, if they could clear them then they could get to the next deck. There were about ten troopers guarding the cables' panel, all armed with nasty looking weapons. He had to take them by surprise. Jumping on one and smashing him down, Mario took the next two beside him with fireballs, punched the fourth and then ducked. They were firing at him now, thankfully Daisy opened a portal beneath him and soon he was behind them and then they were all down.

Mario pulled the lever, grabbed Daisy and rode the cables to the next deck."I have seen the seeds of fire that will prepare the Sodom below for the coming of Kamek," Bowser spat fire through the PA. "It will not be I who rides up that hill. That job... falls to Secondus. His responsibility, falls to you, Daisy." What came next felt like it was out of a video game, as he traversed the barracks, more Koopas came out. Either Mario would stomp on them or fell them with fire. "On one side of our Lamb stands the Plumber," said Bowser. "On the other stand the remnants of the heretical Shy Squad. Which one of you men will not gladly go to his reward to see her safely to her destiny? Rejoice! Rejoice! Death has no sting!" Soon they were at the next panel and ready to clear the next set of cables. In the distance, Mario could see... Shy Guys... approaching in airships of their own. He had already decimated the Koopa Troopa's main forces, now he would have to either get to Bowser fast or fight off the skeleton of another small army. The cables were clearing too slowly, the Shy Guys were boarding. Most of them Mario was able to knock off while they were boarding, some of them he had to stomp when they neared though. They had already boarded the third deck, the cables were clear. Bringing Daisy up to the third deck, Mario shot a giant fireball at their airship, downing have of the Shy Guys right there. The other half were stunned and started firing randomly, not noticing Mario drop behind them and use a gust of flame to push them off right then and there. That problem was solved but he was sure there were more Shy Guys coming.

The door to engineering was closed off with a giant metal door, Mario kicked it down. This would take them to the upper part of the third deck. Bowser started talking again. "I may be the one who strikes you down, Mario, but you've always had a knack for self destruction. Who is to say you won't beat me to the punch?" Mario looked at Daisy, almost begging her to let him handle it alone. There it was then, the final cable, they could ride it to the top, to Bowser. As they rode through the air, Bowser continued to talk. "You come to wipe your slate clean, Plumber - but time will walk backwards before you find redemption. Some sins cannot be forgiven."

Bowser's cabin was guarded by another metal door, Mario gently opened it this time. They entered a medium sized circular door, in the middle was the statue and underneath it a glowing multicoloured stone. Like the siphon back at Dinohattan...

"This is Kamek Tower," Daisy identified the statue. "Underneath it... a siphon?"

"I saw this there," Mario said. "Whenever you did something, I think the machine generated a response."

"Yes, I'll be right with you," came Bowser's voice through the intercom, interrupting them. The door behind the statue hissed as it depressurized, Daisy walked ahead to it.

"Stand back, I'm ending this," Mario told her.

"Mario, no, this is between me and him."

"You are walking into a trap."

The door opened and she walked in.

"I need to do this."

Inside was a small wooden path to a fountain, on the sides a garden and above them a mural of... family. Behind the fountain stood King Koopa, very much human in form. For how long though?

"Come here child," beckoned Bowser, extending his hand to bring her closer to him. "Well come on, I won't bite." Mario cautiously walked behind Daisy, ready to blast a fireball at any given moment. "My oh my, how long it has been."

"Tell me, the truth this time, what am I?" she asked, dredging up memories from the conversation so long ago. He grabbed her hand and brought into the water of the fountain.

"Look at you child, you're a mess." The same words - the exact same words - he used back then!

"Let go of her!" warned Mario.

"Like I said back then, Daisy, everything I've done," explained Bowser. "I've done to keep you safe."

"Safe from what?"

"The return of the king will sit down the throne and drown in flames the glory of the new world," recited Bowser. It was his favorite mantra. Mario stared at his silver haired rival with nothing but hatred. "There was one thing Kamek told me that I did not tell you last time: 'Beware the Plumber, for it was he who wronged Peach all those years ago'." What the hell? How did this monster know anything about Peach!

"What?" asked Daisy, but Bowser's attention was on him now.

"Mario once again I've played the fool," chuckled Bowser. "Once again I sent mighty armies to stop you, I rained fire down from above! I did all of that to keep you from her... when all I needed was to once again tell her the truth!" He turned to Daisy and gripped her arm. Mario's blood began to boil. "It's always been between him, Peach and your neck. Ask him what happened to Peach!" Mario started to inch forward, he had to stop this before Bowser transformed. "Ask Mario!"

"Let go of me," said Daisy and she started to struggle, but he saw Bowser's hand. Scaly and reptilian, he was going to transform!

Just like all those years ago, Mario grabbed Bowser by the neck and yelled at him. "Peach was my responsibility but I didn't abandon her!" He smashed Bowser's neck on the fountain to a magnificent crack. He saw the transformation going more to the arms of the Prophet. "Tell me, was it worth it? Huh? Did you get what you wanted? Tell me! Tell me!" He offered Bowser a brief reprieve.

"For... Secondus... goodbye... shadow," choked Bowser.

"Nothing is finished!" roared Mario and he dumped Bowser's head in the water. "For nine years you lock her up in that tower! You bring up Peach and you put it on me!"

"Mario, stop it!" yelled Peach, and he did, but by that time, hopefully Bowser was done breathing. "You killed him," she gasped. "What did he mean? Who's Peach?"

"It's irrelevant," said Mario, or at least to his knowledge it was. "I... I... that was so long ago, in Brooklyn. I don't know."

"Your eyes, are desperate," observed Daisy.

"Daisy, I swear to you," begged Mario. "I have no idea how Peach is connected to you."

"You do. You just can't remember it."

"No," Mario shook his head. "I'll prove it to you. We'll do what we said first time, we'll destroy the siphon." She looked at him, unconvinced. "The answer's behind one of your portals, you just have to open it."

"Destroy the siphon?" Daisy asked with incredulity. "How are we going to do that? It's an entire tower, Mario. How are we going to do that."

"I don't know," Mario admitted. "But I'll think of something on the way."


	52. Chapter 52

To make sure that Bowser could not come back like he did last time, Mario lit his rival's body on fire. All that would be left soon would be ashes. Not even Kamek could bring him back again. Exiting through the door behind Bowser, Mario knew that if not last time, this time Bowser did deserve to die. He choked Dinohattan, ruined Daisy's life, separated the species and murdered his own children. Heading up a flight of stairs, Mario opened up another door and he felt less claustrophobic. They were in the captain's cabin, which was open to the main deck on the sides.

"Cage... cage... what does that?" Daisy whispered to herself.

"Now what?" Mario asked, while he began to move the flagship back towards Delfino Isle.

"What is she trying to tell us?" Daisy wondered about the message from the future. "Cage... cage... I'm missing something..."

"They said they knew what was best for us!" came the voice of Heronicus from... somewhere, but it was playing on the speakers on the last Shy Guy airships which neared the flagship. What were they coming for here now? Of course, they didn't know Bowser was already dead. "They said they knew what was coming next!" They began to fire missiles at the flagship! If this kept up the entire ship would be downed! "Did you see this coming, old man? Did you, Bowser?" He had to get ready, these Shy Guys meant to board them!

Daisy gasped and whispered loudly enough, "The dragon!"

"You ain't going to place Secondus on the throne, we're going to place the Lamb in the ground!"

Suddenly, Daisy grabbed a pipe and began hitting a steam statue on the side. She kept on banging on it. She kept hitting it while spelling out the letters of the word 'CAGE'. Then she pulled out the steam pipes of the statue. "It's not a word, Mario... it's a song!" Suddenly, Gloomtail came roaring through the sky and landed on the deck. Smashing all the Shy Guys off it and destroying their two airships, the dragon smashed through the front window and rested its head next to Daisy, who went and hugged it. "It's okay, I'm here now," she comforted it. "Will you help me?" It raised its head and looked at her. "Will you do this? Just this one last thing? Please?" The dragon nodded, raised its head and flew up. "Go, Mario, go, go, go - he'll help us! We can use Gloomtail against the Shy Guy fleet!" Jumping on to the main deck, Mario realized that at least fifty Shy Guys were boarding.

Two giant zeppelin's were coming off to the side and at least nine small airships were coming off on the side. Grabbing a steam pipe, Mario threw it at one of the Shy Guys and impaled him. This caused steam to go off and cause some of the other Shy Guys to fall. Grabbing an oxygen tank, Mario threw it into the steam filled area and a fireball after it. Pointing at the Shy Guys' zeppelin, Mario yelled to Daisy, "Tell him to take that one down!"

"You thought the streets were paved with gold?" Heronicus rallied his troops. "They were paved with blood, sweat and tears... our blood, sweat and tears! Today our tears become gold! Your tears become blood!"

Mario turned to Daisy and yelled, "Get back behind the wheel and take this thing to Kamek Island!" She quickly played the pipes and in an instant, Gloomtail came crashing down on the airship. The dragon breathed it's green poison breath onto the ship, likely killing everyone aboard.

Swinging himself on to the cables, Mario jumped up to the first of the nine small airships. Punching a hole in the engine, Mario was lucky that the poison breath had killed the men on the first three airships. He quickly took those down again as well. That was when he noticed the remaining men on the actual main deck attacking the engine. He needed to stop them, but he also needed to destroy the other airships... wait, Gloomtail. "Daisy!" Mario pointed at the other airships. She played the pipe and Gloomtail descended on some of the airships. Heading, down, Mario attacked the Shy Guys in front of the engine and finally took care of all of them and was nearly knocked overboard by a missile from the other zeppelin. That one was armoured and reinforced, Mario yelled for Daisy and told her to send Gloomtail to it. She gave the order, but the dragon was still busy taking out the airships. Getting on the cable, Mario rode them and took the jump and landed on the side of the zeppelin. Sliding down, he headed to the Shy Guy captain's quarters. Burning them all down, Mario destroyed Heronicus last... then he smashed the engine and began to feel it descend. Jumping out, Mario hoped he could make it to the flagship. No and he was falling for the ocean below. Then he was uplifted, Gloomtail had caught him, it had interpreted the orders but when it saw the dirigible down picked him up instead. In a second, he was back at the deck.

Noticing Daisy at the bow of the flagship, Mario ran for her and noticed what she was looking at. Kamek Tower there, broken and busted but Delfino Isle behind it... aflame. There was fire everywhere, Mario wondered how it must have looked like from the ground. The clouds were below Delfino Isle, and above it were the clouds of smoke. "Mario, come here," she called for him and pointed to Kamek Tower. "Look, you can use Gloomtail to tear the whole damn thing down. Destroy the Siphon." Mario took the pipes.

"Tear it down, tear it all down," whispered Mario and he played the tune. Gloomtail undercut the flagship and flew up before descending down into the middle of the tower. Rubble rose up, suddenly explosions came from the left of the tower - blue, electrically making crackling noises. Then it seemed as if the tower was... splitting apart and then it sucked in for a second and exploded. More and more smaller explosions lit out from the ruins of the tower, making arcs like they were fireworks. Mario looked at Daisy, her crystal embedded itself into her chest and melted into her. She seemed to fade in and out of existence then, in and out. She was all white, like she was from a piece of paper. The ship rumbled and Mario dropped the pipes and in an instant he realized the danger. "The dragon, Daisy! I've lost control!" Then he saw Gloomtail, flying, roaring in rage and coming right at them.

"No, he isn't," responded Daisy and all went white as she flicked her wrist.

"Where is he? Where is he? Where are we?" Mario asked. It looked like they were in the hold of another ship, but an actual ship this time. Or a submarine, they were underwater? There was a glass pane of water, a giant window. There was, seaweed? Suddenly Gloomtail came before them, banging on the window.

Daisy put her hand next to it's. Gloomtail was struggling, but she soothed it. "Just let go," said Daisy. "Just let go." It looked at her one last time, and fell back as the life seeped out of it. "There you go. There you go."

"Daisy, I'm sorry," consoled Mario. Then he looked behind and around, it was all fancy, like a slightly large prison used to be here but got all renovated. "What is this place?"

"It's the basement of the Flying Krock, we're underwater," said Daisy. "In a second, Luigi will come down to see what happens, but we won't be here. This place is a doorway, one of many. This way." She led him to a cell door, the same cell door where Rool kept Mario.

"What... Bowser said about Peach... is there an answer here?" asked Mario. "Do you?"

"Down here," said Daisy and Mario followed her. There wasn't a basement below, they were at the bottom of the ship! But Mario still followed her down... the stairs that were not there before. Continuing on, they kept walking through the path that was there. It was still part of the Flying Krock, after all, it still had the same design and design choices that Luigi would have chosen - everything was green. Then they opened to another large area, a lobby like area. Daisy was standing at another door at the end of the lobby. How the hell did Luigi add all this to the Flying Krock? Did he turn it into a warship?

"Mario, this is where we have to go," instructed Daisy and she opened the door.

"Why? What is going on?" asked Mario. "What do you mean, this is a doorway?"

"I'll have to show you."

"Probably going to regret this."

They stepped into the white and out in front of a lighthouse, water all around them. "Come on, come on, this way," Daisy made him follow her. She looked around as they got to the lighthouse door. "Look at that? A million doors all opening at once. My God, they're beautiful."

"What? The stars?"

Daisy tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open. "Damn it! It's no good... I thought once we were here, I could fully open it."

"What's that?" Mario asked, pointing to a shiny metal piece near the ground.

"It's a key."

"Where did it come from?"

"It's always been there." Picking it up, Mario opened the door and... Daisy was already waiting on the other side. "See, not stars. They're doors. To everywhere. All time is available for choosing."

As Daisy walked, a path crumbled up in front of Daisy as she walked. "What are these lighthouses?"

"They're a million million different points in time," explained Daisy. "Points that we've lived through, points that were before us, after us and some that may never happen. Constants and variables."

"What?"

"There's always a kidnapper. There's always a princess and there's always a plumber...," her voice trailed off.

"How do you know that?"

"I can see the timelines through the doors," answered Daisy. "You... me, Delfino Isle, Gloomtail... sometimes, something's different... yet the same."

"Constants and variables," nodded Mario as they walked. He was getting it now. When Daisy opened portals between the past and the future, she could also see all the timelines that could have been... the timelines that were, to some other version of their two universes.

"Yes."

Continuing on to another lighthouse, Mario opened the door. Daisy was already on the other side. It was dawn here, not light. There was... another version of them up ahead, at a different lighthouse. "It's us," said Mario.

"Not exactly. We swim at different timelines, but land on the same shore."

They continued on walking, but Mario could not keep his eye off their duplicates. "I don't understand," he admitted.

"You don't need to. It'll all be the same."

"Why?"

"Because it does. Because it has. Because it will."

"There are so many choices."

"They all lead us to where it started."

"No one tells me where to go."

"Mario, you've already been."

On to the next one, and Mario opened the door. Everything seemed black and white and... familiar. "Wait a minute I know this place," whispered Mario as he looked around. Teenagers in the water, playing and having fun. Mario turned to Daisy. "I was here, decades ago," he told her. "I was a kid. Right after class one day we came here." It was Long Island Beach. "I found..." Then he fell in the water, raggedy, weary and he owed Eddie Scapelli.

"Come on now, time is wasting," Eddie shouted and jumped into the water.

"Why were you here?" asked Daisy.

"Are you all ready for fun!" yelled Eddie and he came before Mario, extended his gun out. "Take it!"

"I don't want to," realized Mario.

"But you already did," said Daisy. "Didn't you?"

And Mario realized what he had to do.

"C'mon big guy!" laughed Eddie.

Mario took his gun and twirled it in the water. They started to fight, have fun, this was great, no... it was wrong, it was. "No, no, no, wait - stop it!" Mario cried out. "No! Get off! Get off!" Eddie tackled him into the water and he almost fell under, so he ran off, ashamed and embarrassed for running away. He pushed past his friends and all colour returned to the world, they all disappeared.

"You didn't go through with it?" asked Daisy.

"You think some regret in the water is going to change what I'll do?" scoffed Mario. "Let's get out of here. These doors of yours, they're all portals right? Well open one up! Open one up to Luigi or Toad, I want to be shut of all this!"

"Not until we find out."

"It doesn't matter! Bowser's dead!"

"No. Kamek was here. This way."

Walking to the beach restroom, Mario pushed open the door and they walked through. They were in his office, there, at the other end was the man who had offered him the deal. Bring them the girl and they would wipe away the debt. Once again, everything seemed extremely dark - black and white, just like those dreams. "And what of my debts?" Mario heard himself say.

"Bring us the girl, wipe away the debt," answered the man.

"This reminds me of the man who hired me to find you. I think? He seems similar, from afar, both slithery like a snake," Mario told Daisy.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes. The girl for the debt."

What was that noise... in the room next to him? Singing, a girl singing. "Wait, no, no, this is wrong." He pushed the door open, and there she was, dancing and singing. "There was no... there... there was no Peach. I remember." That made him angry, what was this? "No, there was no Peach in this and if there was I sure as Hell wouldn't hand her over to this guy!"

"Mario, you don't leave this room until you do," said Daisy.

"Mario? Time is running out," came the man's voice from behind him. "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt." The man was blocking the exit to the room. As much as he regretted it, Mario grabbed Peach's hand. She turned to him and started to smile.

"No," whispered Mario.

"You can wait as long as you want," said Daisy. "Eventually, you'll give him what he wants."

"How do you know all this?"

"I can see all the doors and what's behind all the doors and behind one of them, I see him."

"Kamek," whispered Mario. He turned to see the man in broad daylight. Blue suit, blue hat, fine Rolex watches and Gucci glasses. "What choice do I have?" He passed Peach's hand off to Kamek and she seemed agitated, angry, she looked at him with disappointment and Mario felt a rut in his stomach.

"The debt is paid," nodded Kamek. "I wash you of all your sins." The door shut and immediately feeling regret, Mario pulled it open and stumbled in.

He was back on that rowboat, with Daisy on it with him. Those two who hired him were there as well. "Bring us the girl, and wipe away the debt!"

"Peach wasn't the girl!" cried Mario. Suddenly he felt wobbly, like he was disappearing or something. "It was you!" Those two in the boat did the same dialogue they did before. Getting out of the boat and on to the ladder, Mario could not help but ask. "What are we doing here? Bowser's dead. We can just, go on with our lives, we don't need to."

"Dead?" asked Daisy. "You mean like Count Bleck? Like Mowz? No. He is alive in a million, a million timelines. It's not over because the Prophet is dead. It will only be over when we know what happened."

Mario walked through the door and stumbled into an alleyway, Kamek was there next to a portal, still holding Peach by the arm and another small girl with his other arm. Daisy was there next to him. Kamek was talking to another man. This was his chance to make it right.

"Hey... hey the deal is off!" Mario shouted. "Do you hear me? The deal is off! Give her back!"

"The field will be unstable without a gatekeeper's sacrifice, Mushroom King," taunted Kamek, as he talked into a communications device.

They were all the way at the end. He had to run fast.

"That's fine, hurry."

Fast.

Kamek turned to Mario, let go of the younger girl and pulled out a long knife. "You will not get between us."

Getting closer.

"This is going to get uncomfortable if you don't come," the Mushroom King's voice crackled.

Closer.

"If I don't get caught it's going to be a long time before we see each other." responded Kamek.

Almost there.

"We're going to lose our window!"

"Give her back, you son of a bitch!" yelled Mario and he grabbed Kamek on the arm. In anger, Kamek sliced the younger girl on the neck... sacrificed her and opened up a portal. A portal like Daisy created all the time. Kamek pushed Mario off with such force and he hit the wall. Walking through with a crying Peach, Kamek snickered at Mario. "No, no, no! Peach!" cried Mario as his eyes welled up. He tried to lunge for the portal, but it closed up. His head hurt, tremendously from the impact. Everything faded to white. "No, no, no. Peach. No. I'm so sorry, Daisy. I'm so sorry."

He was back in his office. Fan twirling slowly. That was the worst day of his life. He had repressed it. The worst day of his life. He immediately ran for the door, to see if Peach was in there.

"She's been gone for a long, long time Mario," said Daisy. "Peach is gone. You shared this room with your regret for years, until Luigi found me. You had your chances at redemption, but squandered them until one day a man came and gave you one more chance. A chance for Luigi and I to be together." Daisy opened up a portal to a dock in New York. There was no turning back now. Mario walked through and fell down. His mind hurt, it was jumbling. It was painful. He keeled over. Iggy and Wendy kept saying things they had said before. He kept hearing them, but he had no idea how to respond. Was he having a seizure. "Peach," said Mario, groggily and over and over again. Everything seemed to warp into existence, like the buzzing on an old nineties television set. Then they said something, Iggy and Wendy about memories, before it once again faded to white. "Mario wake up." He quickly jerked back awake, he was back on the damn boat! Those two were rowing and Daisy was in front of him. "This is where it started."

"I let him... nearly kill you, kill you," said Mario.

"To your credit you did try to weasel out of the deal," said Wendy.

"This is all Kamek's fault," Mario dryly told Daisy. "What if I went back, killed him before he did any of this?"

"How would one know how far back to go?" asked Iggy.

"That's the only way to do it," decided Mario. "Go back to when he was born and I'll smother the son of a bitch in his crib." Getting up to the door, Mario put his hand on it, preparing to open it, but Daisy put her hand on his. Stopping him for a second.

"Mario," she whispered. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

"I have to," he nodded. "It's the only to fix what I've done to you." He pushed open the door, there was white, and he was back on the beach, the Long Island one. Eddie Scapelli stood in front him, offering him the gun. "What is this?" asked Mario and Daisy kept coming closer to him. "Why are we back here?"

"This isn't the same place, Mario," she said.

"Of course it is," he denied. "I remember. Wait..." Suddenly, another girl came from his right... another Daisy? "You're not..." Then another Daisy from the left. "Who are you?" Then another Daisy from the left and they kept piling up.

"You chose to walk away from being an executor," said Daisy, or one of her. They kept continuing eachother's sentences. "But in other timelines, you took the gun and shot Eddie in the head. You became a killer and when you entered the Koopahari, it was as a vicious vampiric murderer. Killing gatekeepers, one by one, till they all fell down and you rose a God and a creator of shadow duplicates."

"Kamek," whispered Mario, in horror at what he could have become.

"It all has to end," said the Daisies. "To stop him from taking any more power. Not just from this world, but from all ours."

"Smother him in the crib," said Mario and he realized it.

Kamek was an idea and if they smothered the idea in the crib, then it would cripple the power the real vampiric God held in his time. Kamek had duplicated himself as Bowser and Mario beat Bowser. Mario was Bowser and Kamek. How many times would he kill himself before he finally defeated the ideals of King Koopa? He had become Super Mario, but in another timeline he had become Kamek and Kamek had set all of this in motion.

"Smother him in the crib," the Daisies said in unison. "Before the choice is made. Before you are reborn."

A Daisy came to his left and said, "He's Kamek."

A Daisy came to his right and said, "He's Mario."

Daisy grabbed his throat and prepared to drop him in the water.

"No," said Mario. "I'm both."

And they put him under.

One by one, every timeline that could be cured of Kamek's perversion was fixed as more and more Daisies disappeared. Soon there was only one left.

* * *

Mario awoke with a jolt. He was in a room, kind of like his office. It was more royal, looking though. There was pink all around, was someone cooking mushroom stew? That was the smell that came from the door opposite him. At his desk were no papers, but bobbleheads... of Bowser, Rool and Lord Crump. He nearly fell back, there were glasses. Like the ones Kamek wore, like the ones the Magikoopas modeled theirs after. The bed by the desk was fancy, not like anything he'd ever slept in. "Peach?" Mario's eyes darted to the door to the side, just like the one he had used to give Peach to Kamek.

Opening it slightly, Mario did so slowly and faced the ground, but just before he looked up, all he could ask was, "Peach?"

**End.**


	53. Appendix A

**Alpha Timeline:**

_1600_ \- The X-Naut Trading Company is founded.

_1660_ \- The Kremling Sailor King K. Rool of the Koopahari falls in love with the goddess Kalypso. She rewards him by giving him command of the Flying Krock and giving him the duty of ferrying Boos to the afterlife for ten years before they would unite.

_1670_ \- After Kalypso fails decides not to break him from his curse, an enraged Rool mutates into a lizard like abomination and crashes the convening of the first Lockjaw Court. Giving them the method to bind Kalypso, they do so and she takes life as the mortal Kremling Candy. Out of grief at what he had done, Rool cuts out his own heart and buries it.

_1977_ \- The Koopahari is engaged in a world war and a soldier from Dark Land - General Koopa - is exceptional and quickly rises to the rank of Kerog Croacus. However, Croacus falls in love with a gatekeeper, Mia Rigassi. When the Mushroom King of the Toed Sthuul fears he will lose the war, he makes a deal with the gatekeepers to send his newborn daughter Peach to another universe. They accept and Mia delivers the child to an orphanage in Brooklyn; Mia is fascinated by New York City. Promising to protect Mia, Kerog Croacus marries her and with his brother William, arrives in Brooklyn to protect her. There they take the surname Segale. Unsure of his ability to fight the gatekeepers, Mr. Segale and his William make a deal with King K. Rool - with Segale promising to give up a child of his to serve on the Flying Krock. In order to support his new life, Mr. Segale becomes a plumber. Not long after, Mr. Segale and Mia's first child, Mario, is born. After Segale refuses to give Mario up, he and William are killed by Rool.

_1989_ \- Mia dies and Mario is orphaned. With nobody left to look after him, Mario quickly becomes a troubled child with a dangerous streak.

_1994_ \- Struggling with high school, Mario becomes a teenage gangster, joining Eddie Scapelli's outfit. When the time comes to prove his worth to the gang, Mario is brought to Long Island Beach after class by Eddie Scapelli. Mario is given a gun by Eddie and is asked to execute an enemy gangster. Seeing no future other than a criminal one, Mario complies and commits the murder.

_2012_ \- Mario kills Eddie Scapelli and takes control of the Mafia.

_2013_ \- Hunted by the police, Mario retreats underground where he establishes a new base beneath New York City.

_2014_ \- Mario finds the Siphon below the streets of New York and enters to end up in Dinohattan. Fascinated by the new world he is in, Mario reads up on the mythology of the Dinohattan and learns of all the Gods: Kamek, Boolossus, Kalypso and Queen Jaydes. Amazed by the prospects for power, Mario attempts to seek these Gods out but apparently Kamek has never been seen, the Boolossus is visited upon death, Kalypso is in human form and Queen Jaydes is in the Minus World. With Toadsworth, Mario launches an expedition to the Minus World. There Jaydes reveals that Kamek is none other than who Mario is destined to be if he chooses to kill the gatekeepers. Excited at the prospect of becoming a God, Mario kills Toadsworth when the sailor opposes him and makes his way to the gatekeepers. Killing one, Mario gains power, becomes Kamek and is given a vision of the world aflame. Deeming the vision beautiful, Kamek designs an elaborate plan to get it to come to fruition, one which he knows he will change as it progresses. Realizing he must go back to 1973, Kamek sacrifices the last living gatekeeper and heads back, creating the Sigma Timeline.

**Sigma Timeline:**

_The Sigma Timeline diverges from the Alpha Timeline in 1973._

_1973_ \- Kamek arrives in 1973 with the intention of hunting down the gatekeepers, creating the Sigma Timeline. Koopas and Piantas soon begin to pray to him as God, believing that there is no name holier than Kamek.

_1977_ \- The Koopahari is engaged in a world war and a soldier from Dark Land - General Koopa - is exceptional and quickly rises to the rank of Kerog Croacus. However, Croacus falls in love with a gatekeeper, Mia Rigassi, who fears being hunted by Kamek. She is unable to leave the Koopahari on threat of the other gatekeepers, who are led by the wife of King Murphy of Dinohattan. When the Mushroom King of the Toed Sthuul fears he will lose the war, he makes a deal with the gatekeepers to send his newborn daughter Peach to another universe. They accept and Mia delivers the child to an orphanage in Brooklyn; Mia is fascinated by New York City and believes it to be safe from Kamek. During this time, King Murphy swears fealty to Sir Grodus of Nautical for protection. Promising to protect Mia, Kerog Croacus marries her and with his brother William, arrives in Brooklyn to protect her. There they take the surname Segale. Unsure of his ability to fight the gatekeepers or Kamek, Mr. Segale and his William make a deal with King K. Rool - with Segale promising to give up a child of his to serve on the Flying Krock. In order to support his new life, Mr. Segale becomes a plumber. Not long after, Mr. Segale and Mia's first child, Mario, is born. Next to him in his crib, the shadow child Morton is planted by Kamek. Mr. Segale believes Morton is his through a dimensional paradox or just magic, unaware that the child is actually a clone of Kamek. Believing he can dupe Rool with Morton, Segale sends Morton to the Flying Krock. Recognizing Morton as Kamek's clone, an enraged Rool is unable to find Mr. Segale and decides to twist and corrupt the shadow child.

_1989_ \- Luigi is born, Mr. Segale and Mia's second child.

_1990_ \- Rosalina is born, Mr. Segale and Mia's third child.

_1992_ \- Kamek begins to hunt most of the gatekeepers. In fear, King Murphy of Dinohattan's wife takes their newborn daughter Daisy to another universe. Dropping her off at a church in Brooklyn, her presence is recognized by Mia. Fearing Rool will now be able to find them, Mr. Segale quickly intercepts and kills Daisy's mother. However, her arrival had already been noticed by Rool who seizes Mr. Segale, Rosalina and William through the siphon. Handing a corrupted Morton back to Mr. Segale, Rool takes Bullet Bill and the infant Rosalina to the Flying Krock. Rosalina, with a Luma cap, is hardly able to remember anything with only brief memories of her brothers and father. Dumping Morton and Mr. Segale off at Dark Land, the latter reclaims his title of Kerog Croacus and uses Mia's crystal to spy on his family in Brooklyn. Over a course of months, Croacus sees Mia pass away and Mario begin to search for him. Leaving an ominous threat, Croacus believes he has ensured Mario will never enter the Koopahari. Unable to look at Morton without being reminded of his failures, Croacus sends the shadow child and his nephew Spike away to Dinohattan with a shine sprite to study military tactics.

_1994_ \- Believing his father, sister and uncle dead Mario becomes friends with Eddie Scapelli, the son of a local gangster. Getting arrested several times, Mario becomes a cruel and mean teenager. Mario struggles with high school, being a teenage plumber and trying to keep Luigi safe. Morton on the other hand excels and soon becomes the most favoured subject of King Murphy and is given the title Bowser. When the time comes though, Mario is brought to Long Island Beach after class by Eddie Scapelli and Bowser is brought to the court of King Murphy. Mario is given a gun by Eddie while Bowser is given a sword by Murphy and both are asked to execute an enemy. While Bowser complies and becomes a murderer, Mario is unable to follow through on the act and runs away.

_1995_ \- With the war finally over, the Mushroom King begins praying to Kamek in order to get his daughter back. Peach, however, has just graduated high school in Brooklyn and is dating Mario. Although he is running the plumbing business, debts keep piling on him and his falling out with Eddie means he has no protection either. Nevertheless, with Peach Mario is happier than he ever has, although he is aware she hates not knowing her family. When Kamek, not giving his name, arrives to take Peach back to her father. He offers to wipe away Mario's debt if he agrees to let her go and reluctantly, Mario agrees. Unable to generate enough power to take himself and Peach back to the Mushroom King, Kamek senses and finds Daisy, preparing to sacrifice her to get back. Regretting the deal, Mario pursues Kamek but is unable to stop him from slicing Daisy's neck and fleeing with Peach. Daisy is taken to a hospital and successfully treated, although a long scar continues to exist on her neck. Unable to believe what he had seen, Mario represses most of the details and begins to live in regret.

_1996_ \- Morton fathers Ludwig von Koopa and shortly afterwards meets up with King K. Rool. Forging his own deal with the cruel captain, Morton leads a coup d'état in Dinohattan. Using de-evolution machines, Morton transforms Murphy into fungus and takes over as King Koopa. The fungus soon begins to choke out Dinohattan's rivers though, and cuts it off from the outside world. Becoming a follower of Kamek, King Koopa is given visions by the God and designs an elaborate plan to create Delfino Isle and merge the dimensions. Construction on Delfino Isle begins shortly afterwards on a secret location in the Koopahari Desert. King Koopa also uses the favor owed to Kamek by the Mushroom King to gain endless resources from the Toed Sthuul.

_1999_ \- Toadsworth arrives in Dinohattan.

_2012_ \- Mario reunites with Eddie Scapelli. Mario starts dating Eddie's cousin, Pauline.

_2013_ \- In rage, Donkey Kong kidnaps Pauline and takes her to the top of a construction site. Avoiding barrels thrown down at him, Mario manages to rescue his girlfriend. In anger, Mario sells Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. forcing him to resume business as a plumber. Both apes are placed on a ship and during their shipment back to Kong Island are engulfed in a vortex that sends them to the Koopahari.

_2014_ \- An excavation around the East River of New York threatens Scapelli Construction. It is led by Elvin Gadd and run by his students, one of whom is Daisy, who also works part time at the Rivers Café. Working as a florist's assistant and a waitress at the café, Daisy meets Luigi and Mario, with the former feeling instantly attracted to her. When Iggy and Spike kidnap Daisy and return her to their dimension, Mario and Luigi follow. Realizing the plumbers have arrived, King Koopa decides to forsake creating Delfino Isle before merging the dimensions. Coming into conflict with King Koopa and the Koopalings, the Super Mario Brothers ally with Dane Toad to rescue Daisy. After raiding Koopa Tower, Mario confronts Koopa at the siphon where they battle. After King Koopa transforms into a giant lizard like being, Mario kills him. With Daisy opting to stay in Dinohattan, the Koopalings flee the city as King Murphy resumes his rule. As the rivers to Dinohattan open up again, the people are once again connected to Rogueport and the outside world. Mario and Luigi return to Brooklyn where they decide to try and live normally.

_2015_ \- Bowser Jr is born.

_2017_ \- Lord Crump, servant of Sir Grodus and commander of the X-Naut Trading Company, uses Shine Sprites to kidnap Luigi from Brooklyn. Arriving in Dinohattan, Crump orders the arrest of Daisy and offers Luigi find Toadsworth in exchange for her freedom. Using the Shine Sprites, Luigi brings Mario with him to Rogueport. After meeting up with Toadsworth, the Super Mario Brothers are separated when King K. Rool kidnaps Luigi and places him aboard the Flying Krock. Reuniting with Rosalina and Bullet Bill, Luigi plots to get Rool's heart to use to free his family. The heart is ultimately taken by Ludwig von Koopa who delivers it to Lord Crump while Mario is taken to Ghost Island by the Puftoss. In a plan to get Mario back, Candy recruits Donkey Kong Jr. and sends the heroes off to Crocodile Isle. With Rool under his control, Crump declares war on the Lockjaw Court while Rool murders King Murphy. In Ghost Island, Mario begins to grow powers but is rescued by Luigi, Donkey Kong Jr, Daisy, Toad and Candy. As the fight against Crump continues, Ludwig is murdered and Mario meets Kerog Croacus, finally learning his origin. Ultimately in the final battle against Rool, Candy becomes Kalypso once more, Luigi is mortally wounded but used to stab Rool's heart. With Rool dead and Luigi the new Kaptain of the Flying Krock, Crump is defeated and Dinohattan freed of the X-Nauts. Luigi takes up his duty as the new Rool and decides to wait ten years for Daisy to break the curse while Mario returns to New York City where Pauline breaks up with him. Once home, Mario realizes that he is once again in piling debt. Realizing Rool is dead, Kamek makes a deal with the Boolossus to resurrect Bowser. Intercepting Daisy on her return to Dinohattan, Bowser kidnaps her and takes her to the nearly completed Delfino Isle - which is populated by the Koopa Troopa remnants. Using Shine Sprites to inhibit Daisy's power, Bowser takes control of his city, invites Piantas and reunites with all of his children except for Larry and Lemmy.

_2018_ \- Delfino Isle begins to fly in the air with the Koopas and Piantas reveling at their superiority. Thousands of Toads and Kremlings are kidnapped and forced into slavery, among them is Ms. Mowz who is forced to be a concubine of Roy Koopa.

_2019_ \- Roy Koopa is killed by his own father, Bowser. Mowz is blamed for the murder to allow Roy to become a martyr. Mowz flees execution and begins to militarize the Kremlings and Toads, forming the Shy Squad.

_2020_ \- The Siphon is replicated on Kamek Tower and the Shine Sprites no longer become necessary to inhibit Daisy's power.

_2021_ \- Bowser and Count Bleck organize the death of Iggy and Wendy, but they continue to exist as inter-dimensional Boos. Count Bleck soon uses the portals to other dimensions to capture the dragon Gloomtail and use it as Daisy's guardian.

_2026_ \- Ready to have revenge on their father, Iggy and Wendy give Mario an offer to clear his debts, sending him to dimension of the Koopahari once more. Realizing he is on a floating city called Delfino Isle, Mario comes into conflict with Count Bleck, realizes Bowser has been resurrected and discovers that the girl he is recovering is none other than Daisy. Learning that Bowser led all of his children but Bowser Jr to slaughter, Mario finds the dragon Gloomtail opposing his and Daisy's path. After Bowser once again kidnaps Daisy, Mario tries to rescue her but is stopped repeatedly by Gloomtail. As each of his attempts end in failure, Dr. Crygor and Doopliss eventually manage to convert Daisy into Bowser's perfect soldier.

_2027_ \- The indoctrination of Daisy is complete and she never frees Luigi from his curse, prompting him to become just as bloodthirsty as Rool before him.

_Unknown Date_ \- Mario and Bowser pass away from old age, the former always failing to save Daisy and the latter always succeeding in stopping him. After Bowser passes away, Bowser Jr takes the title Bowser Secondus.

_2097_ \- Daisy, at the age of 105, uses the Siphon to merge the dimensions. With more areas to plunder under his command, Luigi-Rool easily destroys the navies of the most powerful nations. With Delfino Isle under his command, Bowser Secondus completes his destiny and destroys the world's major population centers. After attacking New York City and seeing her former home burning, Daisy uses the last of her power to bring the younger Mario from 2026 to 2097. Giving him the means to save his Daisy, she sends Mario back 2026, creating the Delta Timeline with the hope that he will prevent Bowser's plan from ever succeeding.

**Delta Timeline:**

_The Delta Timeline diverges from the Sigma Timeline in the year 2026._

_2026_ \- Ready to have revenge on their father, Iggy and Wendy give Mario an offer to clear his debts, sending him to dimension of the Koopahari once more. Realizing he is on a floating city called Delfino Isle, Mario comes into conflict with Count Bleck, realizes Bowser has been resurrected and discovers that the girl he is recovering is none other than Daisy. Learning that Bowser led all of his children but Bowser Jr to slaughter, Mario finds the dragon Gloomtail opposing his and Daisy's path. After Bowser once again kidnaps Daisy, Mario is shunted to the Sigma Timeline but returns in time to rescue Daisy. Confronting Bowser, Mario once again kills him and uses Gloomtail to destroy the Siphon - which gives Daisy Godlike powers. Going on an inter-dimensional journey with Daisy, Mario realizes that he and Kamek are the same person. Taken to the point of major divergence, Mario acts in place of Kamek and allows the Daisys from the various timelines to kill him. As Mario wakes up in the Kingdom of Toed Sthuul, ready to reunite with Peach, Kamek dies as Mario's actions begin to take hold.


	54. Appendix B

**Locations:**

_Dinohattan:_

Almost a twisted image of Manhattan, Dinohattan is a giant city with booming skyscrapers, subways and strange mesh grids to power their cars. Once beautiful and bright, a river ran through Dinohattan and gave it the resources it needed to stave off the dangers of the Koopahari Wasteland. During the reign of King Koopa, this river was choked out and only the elite could survive. The corrupt police force commit more crimes than criminals themselves and most of the city ended up being a grime ridden cesspool of death and decay. When King Murphy resumed his rule, conditions improved slightly and the river started flowing again.

_Rogueport:_

A city built by generations of poor people, inhabited by criminals and scoundrels, Rogueport is the birth of the Shy Guy movement. Although there are inns and nice parts of town, Rogueport is a waste of a place on purpose. It provides those who have nowhere to go a place to call home and the Shy Guy masks littered around the city give them anonymity. Rogueport is at the mouth of the ocean and the end of a river that led through Dinohattan; due to King Koopa this passage was blocked off until the Super Mario Brothers defeated him.

_Ghost Island:_

King K. Rool's shadowy prison where his enemies are forced to live out their lives in solitude and let eternity consume them. While there ways into Ghost Island, the only who know how to get there are Rool and the Puftoss.

_Crocodile Isle:_

A gloomy and dark city built atop several islands. Controlled by the X-Nauts, the Crocodile Isle is full of corruption and pollution, with several dangers existing beneath the waterways connecting the islands. Although the majority of the population of the Crocodile Isle were Kremlings, the rulers were the X-Nauts and the criminal syndicate was led by the Piantas. During the war with Rool, the Lockjaw Court of the Piantas, Il Piantissimo, was killed. Shortly after the war with Rool, Roy Koopa's men were slaughtered by the Kremlings of Crocodile Isle.

_Dark Land:_

A sinister land untouched by sunlight due to black clouds found in the northeast of the Northern Kremisphee, Dark Land is filled with the skulls of fallen enemies and endless burning oil. Home of the Koopas, there are large amounts of weaponry scattered throughout the land. The entrance to most of Dark Land is blocked by Lockjaw Island, ruled by Kerog Croacus and the convening area of the Lockjaw Court. Lockjaw Island houses an impregnable fortress which blocks off the rest of Dark Land. The cities of the ruling class are shadowy, with smog and pollution making even the brightest light seem dim. Most of the lands are inhabited by fighting tribes who duel each other for superiority.

_Delfino Isle:_

A floating city resembling a tropical island paradise, Delfino Isle is King Koopa's battleship. Originally intended to be launched and used to neutralize all threats when the dimensions were merged, Bowser was killed before it could be completed. He was resurrected though, when it was nearly completed. With the Koopa Troopa embroiled in a fierce civil war against the Shy Squad, Delfino Isle was lit aflame when Mario arrived. Eventually the Shy Squad were decimated as were the Koopa Troopa, leaving the city mostly uninhabited and flying off to nowhere.

_Arctic Abyss:_

Icy cavern which is surrounded by water; home to the nation known as Nautical the Arctic Abyss is the birthplace of the X-Naut Trading Company. Led by the vicious Sir Grodus, the X-Nauts have adapted to the harsh conditions of the land around them. As such, they have become vicious fighters. Even that was not enough though, as when Delfino Isle flew overtop the Arctic Abyss, Grodus was unable to defeat the resurrected King Koopa. The Arctic Abyss is located in the northwest of the Northern Kremisphere.


End file.
